Shake the dust
by dixie-bella
Summary: That my dear friend is Bella Swan." I wanted her, more than anything I ever wanted. "Yeah well, good luck with that." AU, RATED M. E/B
1. Chapter 1

"Honey are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be right down." I said, sitting in my bed while looking through my Cds.

"Okay." I heard my mother sigh, and then she was gone.

Here I was, saying goodbye to the fucking room that watched me grow. Grow from an arrogant toddler, to a fucked up adolescent all too interested in sex and drugs- yeah, that was me. We were moving, and it's just a little depressing to realize all your life can be packed in fucking boxes. I mean, it's like everything I am could just fit in the back of a truck.

I was still looking through my music when my sister came to my room. "Come on asshole, we're going." And with that she strolled downstairs.

Is she ever going to forgive me?

"We are waiting for you moron!" Yeah well, I guess not. Or at least not for a while.

I fixed the last things remaining in my room in a box and marked them as 'Important' in the side. These were the only things that still meant something to me, I mean besides my car. Which included some albums, and a fucking photograph.

I lift the box and glanced one last time at my former bedroom. Looking at the fucking stains in the carpet of cigarette I made when I was thirteen, and the dent in the wall that was thanks to Jeremy who was so drunk that decided to throw his guitar across my room. Still this was my place, my refuge and home for the last 17 years. And now thanks to my stupid ways, I had to leave it.

It was actually a small price to pay.

****

"Excuse me sir, do you need some help with that?"

I stopped fidgeting with the bag of peanuts for a second and looked to the stewardess that was smiling to me.

I nodded and she took it, and in one fluid motion she had it opened. I thanked her and she strolled down to help a kid go to the bathroom- disgusting.

I really hate planes. Ever since I was a little boy, and my parents organized this extravagant vacations to Europe and Australia; sometimes I had even to endure 13 fucking hours in a plane, just so they could be satisfied. Needless to say, I'm a little claustrophobic.

The flight from Alabama to Washington is pretty long, and I had nobody to talk to. My brothers were sitting together in the row in front of me, and my parents in the row next to them. I was the outcast, sitting alone, sulking over the holidays.

We were going to this town called Forks, in the middle of nowhere. But really I had no place to argue; I just stayed quiet and nodded my head. I didn't have the energy anymore.

I caught my sister glaring at me a couple of times, but decided to ignore her. I was used to those kinds of things by now; and it's not like I didn't fucking deserve it.

The pilot announced that we were landing and I let out a sigh. I guess this was it. The fresh start; the funny thing is that I don't even remember finishing anything.

****

I opened the door of my new room and noticed it was a little bigger than my last room. See, my mother Esme is an interiors designer. She takes every opportunity she has to spend tons of money in decorating things. Moving for her, is a dream come true. And then I noticed.

Red.

_Red._

The fucking walls were red.

Is this some kind of a sick joke?

I cursed and lay in the king-sized bed. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, or maybe to die, but it was fucking freezing. I realized my bed had a huge window in the east wall, where I could see the Calawah River. The view was pretty amazing, and I was pleased that I could come here and just look at the fucking forest and shit. The river was somehow soothing for me.

Just when I was getting some sleep my cell buzzed.

"Hello?" I said, my voice was raspy and I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes.

"Hey Eddie," My brother Emmet was probably the only one I wouldn't punch for waking me up. "Mom wanted to tell you that dinner is ready and that you need to come downstairs now."

"Where the fuck are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen dog. I would've gone looking for you but this house is too big." I could hear him shoving food in his mouth. "So I decided that calling you was better. Anyways, hurry."

I groaned, but woke up anyway. I didn't need another reason for my family to be disappointed in me.

I came to the kitchen, and took a plate. I sat next to my brother and across my dear sister. They were all discussing things like school and the trip. My sister and I were going to finish out junior year; while Emmet was finishing his senior year. It's a little stupid if someone decides to change school in the middle of the year, but believe me, we had our reasons.

"Edward I think you need more food than that." My dad said while eyeing my plate.

My father, yeah where can I begin? Dr. Carlisle Cullen is a spinal surgeon. He finished in Harvard Med School a year before anyone in his class and was offered a job as soon as he was out. He was considered a genius besides his colleagues, mainly because he not only saved, but allowed a woman whose spine was almost crushed to walk again, when almost everyone thought it was a lost cause. My dad was a hard model to live up to, but fortunately I had no intentions on trying. The thing with my dad is that since the moment I opened my eyes for the first time, he somehow knew I would be a surgeon just like him. He loved my brothers, but I've always been the one he lays his hopes onto. He's always looking for reasons to take me to the hospital, so I can become interested and finally admit to him that medicine was my future. I really liked medicine, but I had a passion, and it was music. My father never missed any of my recitals, but he ignored my music teacher when he told him I had aptitudes for piano, and that I was really _really_ talented. He ignored my mother when she told him that I enjoyed it. No, my father only saw me as what he thought was the best for me.

"Come on that, leave Eddie alone. He doesn't need to eat that much, remember that he's the intellectual in the family." My brother replied, while elbowing me in the ribs.

Emmet is my big brother, he's 18. Ever since we were little kids, we've been more or less best friends; he's the one that always has my back, no matter what. He's a big guy, and very athletic. It was no surprise for us that he decided to play football on UCLA when his senior year was over. Emmet can play anything that involves a ball, and he's always the best at it. Unfortunately, my brother has an interesting taste in ladies; well, its more like bad luck. We used to tease him about it, see my brother's girlfriends can be classified in three categories: Sluts, psychopaths and clingy. Even though he hasn't found the right one, my brother always greet us all with a big smile plastered on his face. I'm lucky to have him.

"Huh? Intellectual?" My sister scoffed. "More like stupid."

"Alice." My father warned.

"Or I don't know, maybe a moron."

"Please Alice, not in the table." My father tried to reason.

"But I think its more in the lines of arrogant egoistical prick!"

"Alice enough!" Carlisle has never been one for violence. Alice used to listen to him, we all did. "Please, let's try to have a nice dinner."

"You know what," she looked me straight in the eye. "I'm not hungry anymore." She barely touched her food.

We all heard her as she strolled furiously to her bedroom. I continued with my dinner as if nothing happened at all.

After a while we all finished and went to our respective rooms. I found my iPod and decided I was in the mood for some Train. With that I closed my eyes and prayed for sleep to come.

****

Someone was banging at my door.

I woke up sweating to yet another nightmare, only to find my dear brother Emmet knocking at my door at exactly 12:30 p.m.

"What's your problem?" I said as soon as I opened the door.

"We have visit. Mom wants you down in five."

I groaned but nodded and went for a bath. After I was done I went downstairs, only to find that my whole family was already there, but with three more persons.

"Hey honey, I want you to meet Mrs. Hale," she directed to a woman more or less about her age, with blonde hair and a lot of jewelry. She could've been beautiful when she was younger I could tell. She seemed to be nice, a little high maintenance, but nice nonetheless. I nodded and she smiled at me, a little surprised that I didn't offer my hand or some shit like that. "And these are her children, Jasper and Rosalie. They are our neighbors."

Jasper kind of nodded in my way, while his sister smiled coyly and waved at me. He had dirty blonde hair, and I could see we were almost the same height, he was lean and a little tanned; he had a pair of jeans, a black shirt and a fedora hat. Really smooth. His sister, well, she was hot. All legs and long blonde hair. Her hair was a little lighter than her brother's. She was also lean and she obviously liked make up. She had a pair of jeans too, with a white sweater and heels.

"We're going to leave you kids alone, while I show Jenna the house." With that we were left alone. My brother obviously was the first one to break the silence.

"So, what you do in this town for fun, huh?" He asked while sitting in the couch.

"Parties, drinking, the usual man." Jasper replied, while sitting across of him in a chair.

"So you are both seniors?"

"No, actually I am a junior, my sister she's a senior." She said while pointing to Rosalie.

"That's cool," my sister chimed in. She never took her eyes from Jasper. "My brother and I are juniors as well, and Emmet here is a senior. We start school tomorrow."

"Great." Rosalie said. "Look, there's a party tonight, you know since holidays are over. Maybe you wanted to come?"

"Yeah sure." Emmet said.

"I meant all of you." She said while glancing my way.

"Eddie will go. Don't worry about that." Great. Just great.

****

I love parties, don't misunderstand me. I really do, it's just that I tend to get out of control.

"We're almost there." Jasper said. I wanted to take my car, so Jasper rode with me, while Alice and Emmet went in Rosalie's car.

Jasper was a cool guy; we had a lot of things in common. He was a musician too, and he had good taste. I parked outside a big house, there were many people outside, and many of them already drunk. Music was blasting from the inside.

"Yeah, well we are here." Jasper said as he opened the door and let himself out.

I took a deep breath and followed him. The smell of alcohol was familiar for me, it had been a little over a month since the last time I really went to a party. Jasper introduced me to some of his friends, and I spotted Alice and Emmet talking to some people. I followed Jasper outside, where some people were in the pool. I almost ran into a girl who was vomiting her guts out. Jasper greeted some friends and introduces them as Mike, Tyler and Paul. They were alright.

Some girls came and started fucking talking to me.

"Hi baby, you must be new. My name is Lauren and these are Jessica and Angela." Jessica seemed to belong to Jersey Shore, and Angela was what appeared to be a book worm. Lauren herself was the kind of girl I would've fucked without a second thought a month ago. She was the girl I fucked in a party like this, and then never called. Her hand began roaming over my chest, and I was going to tell her to fuck off when something caught my attention.

She was sitting at the top of a picnic table, with a lot of people surrounding her. She had long, straight brown hair, and a pair of denim shorts and a blue shirt, her legs were endless. Her eyes, for Christ sake, her eyes were brown, but like chocolate- endless pools of chocolate, shiny and beautiful as hell. Her nose was perfect, with little freckles across the bridge, her lips were perfect. There wasn't another word for her lips. Perfectly plump and pink, and just mouthwatering. Everybody was talking to her, but she didn't appear to be paying them much attention, concentrated only in her drink. She crossed her perfect legs and asked a guy to fill her now empty glass. She made every girl in the vicinity look like ugly trolls. Just by looking at her I was so turned on that I had to fix my jeans. The thing was, I was unable to take my eyes off from her. She was like an addiction, and I haven't even talked to her yet. She just _called _to me.

Somehow she inspired a feeling of superiority and fucking intelligence, I don't know. Like if she was so much better than every single one of us, and perhaps she was.

It didn't cross my mind that I was staring until Jasper grabbed my arm, "Dude what are you looking at?" He followed my glance and gave me a knowing smirk. "Oh, I see."

"Who the fuck is that?" I asked, suddenly feeling out of breath.

"That my dear friend is Bella Swan." He patted my shoulder and laughed. "Yeah well, good luck with that."


	2. Chapter 2

"So, you know her?" I asked Jasper as he handed me yet another beer.

"Off course dude, we're friends." He said while taking a sip from his drink. "She's a junior too, you know."

Fuck, maybe I could be lucky enough to land in some classes with her. Yeah, and then I could stare at her the whole day and she would realize what a fucking stalker I am.

"She's… well she's something else." Fantastic, now I speak like a moron.

Jasper laughed at my lack of vocabulary. "Yeah man, she has this _je ne sais quoi,_ you know?" He threw his arm around my shoulders and began leading me her way. "Come on, I will introduce you guys."

I wish I could say I wasn't nervous, but I was.

This girl, she ignited something in me. Like if I had to prove myself, that I was enough for her.

We were close to her now, and I could fucking smell her. Strawberries. She smelled so sweet, and I can't believe I just smelled someone.

"Hey Bella," he said, and jumped to the picnic table to give her a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled and replied a soft, "Hey Jazz,"

"How are you darlin'?"

She sighed and I just couldn't take my eyes off of her lips. "Bored Jazz, I was waiting for you to come." She realized I was there, staring at her like an ass, "Who's your friend?"

Jasper smiled and pointed at me, "This, my sexy friend, is none other than Edward Cullen," I snorted at his comment. "He's new here. A junior like us."

"Yeah, I figured that." She looked at me and plopped down from the table; she stood next to me and motioned me to lean forward since she was shorter than me. I did and she kissed me in the cheek. "Hi, I'm Bella." And with that she climbed to the table again.

The spot where she kissed me was all tingly and shit, and I could smell her all better now, and I was just intoxicated. She smelled so fucking good. I had this instinct to go and grab her and smell her, in that spot just below her ear. Fuck I was sick.

"So Edward, where are you from?" Just as I was about to answer her we heard Rosalie calling for Jasper.

"Hey, sister is calling so I need to go." He kissed Bella in the cheek once more and gave me a knowing smirk. "I'll be right back."

"Hey Jazz, tell your sister to come later to say hi. I haven't talk to her since I came from New York."

"Okay baby, I'll tell her. And don't forget I'm riding with you tonight." She smiled and nodded.

"So Edward…" She started, and motioned for me to sit beside her.

I coughed and sat nervously. "Yeah well, we came from Alabaster, Alabama."

"We?" She didn't look very interested, since she was looking ahead while she asked.

I shifted a little bit since my current position was a little bit uncomfortable and ended a lot hell more closer to her than what I intended, "Uh yeah, my brothers and I."

"Would that guy happened to be your brother?" She pointed to a very busy Emmett in a beer contest. He was probably winning.

I laughed a little, "Yeah that's him. My too responsible, too sober big brother."

She turned to looked at me and I found myself unable to look another way, "He seems cool. I would like to meet him."

In that moment I realized I couldn't ever say no to this girl. "Sure, but let me warn you. Once you meet my brother, you'll be committed to a lifetime of witnessing his stupidity and lack of common sense."

She laughed at my remark, and I swear it was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. "Then it's good that I lack common sense too."

She then suddenly stepped down from the table and began walking towards the house.

"Hey, where are you going?" I yelled after her.

"Come on Cullen," she said.

I looked at her retreating form for a second and then I just ran to catch up with her. She led me inside of the house.

There were people dancing and all the lights were off, except for a blinking light that somehow made Bella look like a fucking angel. She began swaying to the music and I almost fucking lost it. She beckoned me with one finger, and just like that she had me in her little hand.

She began moving through the crowd of people and just like if I was hypnotized, I followed her. Then it became almost unbearable and I needed to touch her, so I reached for her waist and held her firmly in place. She turned and smiled at me, and suddenly her arms were circling my neck and we were dancing. And I almost came in my pants.

Her body was all smooth and curves and fucking perfect. She was toned and she had this incredible flat stomach, and she was smiling and then I was smiling too. And because I was this close to her, my senses just filled with her, and I couldn't form a single coherent thought. Someone handed her a drink and she took a sip and then she handed it to me. I drank it all in a gulp and threw the cup across the room. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours, dancing and drinking, until I started to get dizzy. She smiled at me, and I wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt. I started to lower my hands to her hips when she shook her head and took my hand. She led me to the stairs, until we were in a hall in the second floor.

She pushed me to a wall and came close to my ear, "What do you want Edward?" she whispered.

I couldn't even speak; I was all too intoxicated by her and her ways. I needed…. I just needed… her. She still smelled like strawberries, and I was starting to think that it was her natural scent. I noticed that her skin shone a little, making her seem like if she radiated light or some shit. Her eyes were glowing with curiosity and knowledge, like if she knew something that you didn't. Her eyes made you think she had a secret.

"I want…" I sighed, "I only want you."

She smiled at me and then her lips were on mine, and I just fucking came just with that. She was all sorts of sweet, and I couldn't have enough. I grabbed her hips and then her legs were around my waist, and I just needed to be closer. I turned us around, so she was now the one pushed against the wall. I darted my tongue out and she opened her mouth, and she was so fucking sweet. I've never felt this way before, it's like she was made only for me. Her hand grabbed my hair and started pulling and I fucking _moaned_. Yes, Edward Cullen moaned. She seemed to like it, since she started pulling a little bit harder. I needed to touch her, so I left one hand in the small of her back to support her, while the other started roaming through her chest, until I was touching her breast. It was the best fucking pair of tits I have ever felt. They weren't big or anything, they were just perfect. They filled my hand perfectly.

I pushed her harder into the wall and fucking ravished her mouth, and her pussy was pressed against my dick and I just couldn't handle it. It was too much. Her lips left time, and then she started sucking on my neck, and then on my earlobe and I groaned when she bit lightly. This girl was gonna be the death of me. I started moving my hips, and this time she moaned. And then her lips were back on mine again, and I felt like I was in heaven, and this fucking girl was my angel, my salvation.

I was so hard I thought my dick was gonna fall, and all because this intoxicating girl. _Bella._ I started groping her harder, taking one nipple between my fingers, when I heard a something buzzing.

"Fuck." She said against my lips. She reached to her back pocket and brought a Blackberry to her ear. "Hey." She said, her eyes never leaving mine. The person in the other line talked for about 15 seconds, not that I was counting, and then she nodded. "Okay, I'm coming." She sighed and motioned for me to put her down. "Sorry, it was Jazz. We need to go, the police is coming."

I let her down and began running my hand through my hair. It was a habit I did whenever I was stressed out. Right now it was because I was sporting a motherfucking big boner.

Bella looked at my jeans and started giggling, "Sorry tiger, there is just not time." He gave me a quick peck on the lips and started strolling downstairs. I was dumbstruck but I still followed her.

Everyone, I mean the ones that could still walk, were running for the door. I caught Alice and Emmett who were coming from outside. "Come on brother, we have to go." My brother grabbed my arm and we went for the door. I spotted Jasper and other guys getting inside what I supposed was Bella's car, since she was driving. She had a fucking big Range Rover, which seemed to fit better to Emmett than to her.

Alice drove since she was apparently the only one who wasn't drunk. We had to be silent, since Dr. Cullen wouldn't allow us to be drunk the day before classes started. We all went to our respective rooms; as soon as I spotted the bed I threw myself in it and let sleep overcome me.

My dreams were filled with Bella. Bella kissing me. Bella whispering to my ear. Bella naked. Bella surrounding me. She was everywhere.

I woke up with a stupid smile plastered across my face and a fucking hangover.

Today was our first day in Forks High.

My mother wished us good luck and this time I thanked her instead of just nodding. She was surprised and just smiled me back. I didn't realize that it was simple things like that that made Esme happy.

Alice rode in Emmett's jeep, while I went in my Volvo.

I was a little excited, and I would be lying if I said that it wasn't because of Bella.

The school wasn't hard to find, it appeared to be a lot of buildings and a lot of fields and stuff. There were a lot of cars but I couldn't see the black Range Rover. I began walking to the front building when I heard my name been called.

I turned around and I saw Rosalie waving at me. "Hey Edward, come here."

I approached the red BMW that she was leaning on and muttered a 'hi'.

"How are you? I didn't see you after the party." She looked at me with this fucking face of expectation, and I just wanted to find Bella.

I lit up a cigarette, and ran a hand through my mess of a hair. "Yeah, I went to my house before the police came."I inhaled and let the smoke fill my lungs, right before I let it out. "Hey, where is your brother?"

"Oh, he usually rides with Bella in the morning, and they usually come late. They're just tit for tat those two." She giggled, and then she looked at me. "Oh you probably don't know whom I'm talking about."

I shook my head, "No, I met Bella yesterday."

Her face fell a little, "You did huh?" She grinned at me again, "She's really amazing, and she's been close to us ever since we were little toddlers. She and Jazz they are just trouble together."

I remembered I had to get my schedule, "Yeah well, uhm I have to get my schedule and shit."

"Oh, do you want me to show you were the office is?" She asked.

I nodded and then she led me off to a building that said Office in the window. Yeah I probably would've found that by myself, but still she was really nice.

"Thank you Rosalie."

"Oh you are welcome, and please call me Rose." She waved and went to her class.

After I had my schedule I began searching for my homeroom. I finally did, but I guess I was running a little late, because when I opened the door everyone turned to look at me, or I must say stare at me. I apologized and went to sit in the back of the classroom.

When homeroom was over I noticed my first class was Biology, with Mr. Banner. I was one of the first people to come in and I sat in the last table, hoping that no one would bother me. Just when the bell rang, and Mr. Banner was about to close the door a hand stopped him and he opened the door to a very smiling Bella.

"Glad to know you are still the punctual person you've always been Ms. Swan." Banner said as he closed the door and motioned her to sit.

"Oh come on Mr. B, you know a tiger can't change its stripes." She smiled at him, and just like that she had him dazzled. He nodded and turned to write something in the board.

Bella noticed I was in the room and began walking to my table. She was wearing skinny jeans and a white long sleeved shirt. And her cheeks were pink and she looked good enough to eat. And then I remember last night, and I needed to think about my grandma and bunnies because there was no way in hell I was going to get hard in Biology class with Mr. Banner.

"I believe you're in my seat." She said while putting her books in the other side of the table.

I gave her a crooked smile, "I could always sit there next to JumboTron." I pointed to a big guy sitting in the table next to us.

She laughed and shook her head while sitting in the stool next to me, "Nah, its okay tiger. I'm always eager to help a hopeless soul." She grinned at me and showed her perfect teeth and I wanted to kiss her again.

I laughed and was about to reply something when Mr. Banner called my attention, and basically threatened me with detention. Like I cared. But he reminded Bella the last thing she needed was another detention, and that was enough for me to shut up.

I took a paper and started scribbling. _What did he mean with another detention?_

I passed it to her and she started writing. _Let's say I am the sole mastermind behind the mal-doings that go around this school._

I glanced at what she wrote and smile. _So, you're in trouble I guess?_

_Hmm, I just need to behave for a while. _

She beamed at me and popped a piece of gum in her mouth. Juicy fruit, I noticed her bag was full of that stuff.

We spent the rest of the class passing papers and laughing at each other's remarks. I learned that Bella had been in serious trouble last year, when she was busted in the middle of a prank involving the principal's car and the pool. Her father was pretty pissed, and she was almost expelled; she was on probation now. Needless to say, Jasper was involved in the prank too.

Now I understood what Rosalie told me before.

When the class was over I noticed that we had different classes, so I reluctantly let her go to her Government class, while I had Spanish. The rest of the day passed incredibly slow, I had some classes with Alice but she didn't even look my way, and some other with Jasper, who was becoming one of the coolest motherfuckers I've ever met.

Finally it was time for lunch, we went together and some of the people I met yesterday on the party greeted me. Including Lauren, and her friends, whose names I can't seem to remember. I sat down in a table with Jazz and some of his friends. I recognized Paul and Tyler from the night before. Just as I was going for my tray I noticed a big guy sitting in a table a couple of tables away from ours. He was very tanned and taller than me; he had black hair and very fucking white teeth, but he seemed friendly enough. However he was looking at something near the front door, and then I realized it was Bella.

I pay for my food and went to sit at the table, I asked Jasper about the guy and he just shook his head. "That's Jacob Black. He's a pretty nice guy; he never messes with anyone, well unless you mess with him. And there is only one way you can really fuck with that guy."

"And what is that?" I was relatively curious.

He smirked, "Messing with Bella dude." He took a bunch of my fries and started munching them. "I've had my fair share of fights with Jake. Always because of Bella. See, if I'm the one that she always goes for when she wants a little trouble, he's the one that always saves her ass when things are about to get ugly." He said matter-of-factly.

"So he's like a good friend." I ventured.

"Oh no, the guy is totally in love with her. Ever since we were little; see, their parents, are like BFFs. They always go golfing and stuff. They practically grew up together, and I guess that's why he's so protective of her, but he looks at her like a man looks at the woman he loves. Simple as that. The thing here is that Bella doesn't feel the same way; I don't think she even knows how the guy feels about her."

Well, I guess Jacob Black will hate me now. I couldn't care less; I would fight that guy right now if that was going to get me closer to Bella.

"Hey Jasper," I turned at the sound of my sister's voice. I totally forgot her infatuation for my new friend.

He nodded her way, "Hey Alice, what´s up short stuff?"

I barely registered their conversation, since my eyes were glued to Bella, who was now hugging Black. I officially hated the guy. Who the fuck does he think he is?

He was all smiles and touches, and I was fucking fuming. Just the thought of them together made my stomach wretch.

Suddenly I noticed Tyler standing up, and walking towards where she was standing. He lifted her by the waist and spun her around. She began laughing and then I realized I was half-standing from my chair with my hands clenched in fists.

Jasper looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I mouthed him to shut up and sat again in my chair.

What the fuck just happened?

Tyler began walking to our table with Bella in his back, he gently plopped her on the floor and she went to sit next to Jasper in the table. He threw one arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple.

"Hey Alice, this is Bella." He said motioning to my sister and then to Bella. "Bella, this is Alice. Edward's sister."

"Yeah, I saw you today in Art. You're pretty good at painting." Bella replied while looking at Alice.

"Thanks," Alice said while blushing, she loved when people complimented her. "I really loved your cartoon of Mrs. Banks. It was pretty accurate."

Bella laughed, "Yeah well, I've had a lot of practice. So how are you two juniors? I mean, was one of you held back a year or something?"

"We're twins." Alice said. Her face hard as fucking stone.

"Oh, that explains it all. You guys are like Lil and Phil." She smiled, and Alice couldn't help but smile too. Bella glanced at Alice for a moment before speaking, "You know, we should definitely go shopping."

At that Alice's eyes began sparkling, "Oh my God! I was totally thinking the same thing."

And just like that, I knew that I was going to have to compete with my all loving sister for Bella. I smiled as Bella began running her hands through my hair, but it was gone when I realized that someone was glaring at me, and not just anyone, Jacob Black was shooting me daggers from his table.

_Well my friend fuck you and your fucking white teeth._


	3. Chapter 3

All too soon, school was over, and I couldn't see Bella for at least another 16 hours. Yeah I've been counting, pretty depressing.

After the whole Jacob incident I decided I wasn't going to let this one dude fuck up this thing I had going on with Bella. So yeah, the moment the guy glared at me, I fucking smiled, so he would know that he wasn't going to freak me out with his little act. Not a chance dude.

Alice and Bella talked for the rest of the lunch hour, and they got along pretty fucking well I must say. So Alice probably would talk shit about me behind my back, so let's pray that Bella will realize what a little annoying squirt my sister is, in time before she opens that big mouth of hers.

So I probably was a hypocrite, and a liar, and a fucking asshole, who only thinks of himself; in fact, hell maybe I am all of those things, but the truth is, that Bella came to me as an opportunity for something better, something I don't deserve, but better nonetheless. She is the only fucking good thing in my day, and maybe I am depending too much on her to save my fucking miserable and haunted life, but she's the only thing I got right now, and no one, and I mean _no one_, will fucking ruin that.

The moment I came to the house Alice was all over me.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" She yelled at me, her eyes showing the hatred she felt for me.

I gave her a confused look, while I headed for the kitchen, "What the fuck do _you_ think you are doing?"

"Seriously, I thought you were a little less stupid than that. Coming here and talking to Bella like you were prince fucking charming, and flirting with her as if you weren't the little piece of shit you really are!" She was screaming at this point, and I would lie if I said I've never seen her this angry, because I have. Only worse.

I started making a sandwich, and avoided looking into her eyes, "Leave me alone munchkin."

She scoffed, "Unbelievable," She threw a plate at me and I had to duck down to avoid it hitting square in my face, "You are just fucking," Another plate. "Unbelievable." This time she went with a ceramic apple. "Grow up you insolent…" A fork. "Immature…" A wooden spoon, "Fucking…" Her Algebra book. "Psychopath." I literally scoffed at that.

_Am I really a psychopath next to you?_ Off course I didn't say that, because that would probably earn me a knife in my balls, and nobody would want that.

When Alice noticed she ran out of things to throw to me she started screaming and punching me in my back. The little Sport practiced Karate when we were little, so her punches started hurting after a while.

"Ouch Alice, stop it!" I tried to walk out of the kitchen, but she wouldn't just let me. After a while she seemed to have got tired, and I was able to grab her wrists, "Please Alice just give it a rest." I tried to plead with my eyes, but hers were closed.

She stopped moving and with a sigh I let go her go. She took her bag and went silently to her room. I gave up with the fucking sandwich because a really seemed to have lost my appetite.

I went to my room and decided I wasn't in the mood for homework, so I took my iPod and laid on my bed.

The next thing I knew Alice was in my room, she was crying hysterically, her little hand clutched to her chest tightly. She was saying _her_ name over and over again. I couldn't bear to see her crying like that, so I tried to reach out for her, but I couldn't fucking move. It was like my brain wasn't able to control my body anymore. My sister kept on crying, making this heartbreaking dry sobs that made me want to wretch and scream. Suddenly she stopped crying and I couldn't believe the relief that filled my body. She looked at me and held out her hand. I couldn't fucking move so I wasn't capable of reaching for hers. She began whispering something, and after a while I realized it was 'Just listen.'

I woke up sweating and heaving, with a horrible sensation that I had fucked something up. I laid there in my bed for a couple of minutes just staring at the stupid roof when something suddenly hit me. _Just listen._

I went running to Alice's bedroom and knocked loudly.

"What?" She said after a couple of minutes of my intense knocking.

"Hey Alice, it's me."

There was a long silence before she spoke again. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you?" My forehead was now resting in the doorframe.

"Just go away Edward."

"Please Ali, it's about _her."_ After a moment of fucking unpredictable silence, she opened the door.

Without waiting for me to enter, she plopped herself in the bed and resumed reading a magazine. I noticed her room was pink. And I remembered that it was her favorite color. There were a bunch of papers and magazines spread all over the floor and some clothes too. Some people may think her room was disorganized, but I bet you my whole Cds collection that she knew where every little thing was.

She completely ignored me, so I knew I was the one who needed to start the conversation. "So you know, I had this dream…" I began, but then realized it was a bad approach, so I started again. "You were right. I am a moron, and an egoistical prick and everything else. I never really considered what you may felt, and I never really cared what my irresponsibility and moronic ways might have caused you- I came here to declare myself as an insolent bastard and to pay my much deserved punishment for ignoring the pleas and feelings of my very much beautiful little sister."

She mumbled something but I couldn't hear her.

"What?"

"I said to minutes." She lowered the magazine and I was surprised to see she was actually smiling. Well, at least a little, but it was a good start. "You are only older than me by two minutes."

I grinned back, "Two minutes, my dearest sister, can be compared to 20 years in maternal issues."

She smirked and put a finger in her chin, as if she were thinking something really hard, "So that means you are 40."

"Only in my soul." She laughed and threw a pillow at me.

"Really Alice, I came here to apologize. I know I haven't been the greatest brother for the past couple of months, but I really love you and I want things to be like before."

Her face became serious, "You don't get it, do you? Things will never be like before."

I ran my hands through my hair. "Please Alice, I'm trying here. I know what I did, and I know that I won't ever be able to erase what happened that night, and it will always haunt me and believe me I will always feel like the most stupid motherfucker on Earth, but I need to know that you can forgive me."

She avoided my stare and bit her lip.

"Everything's just to fucked up." I laughed at her reply, because in reality it was.

"Hey Ali," I sat down next to her in the bed and grabbed her hand. "Do you remember how you felt that night you rode with me in the ambulance?" She nodded. "Well that's what love feels like. I really love you, I mean come on we practically shared our mother's womb. You'll always be a part of me Ali, and I just really need to know you fucking forgive me, because if you don't I think I'm gonna be man enough to move some place else."

She snickered at my comment, "Are you threatening me, Edward Cullen?" I smiled at her and she fucking hugged me and I hold her tightly. "I forgive you." She whispered.

I was beaming inside, literally I was jumping in excitement, but right now I just wanted to hold my little sister.

"Thank you."

"Sorry about the whole kitchen incident," She raised her head to look at me. "Let's just say I was a little pissed at you."

"I know, and I don't blame you. Sometimes I truly hate myself, I'm never gonna be able to fully forgive myself, you know? And that shit scares me Ali."

"You must know that we all make mistakes, is up to us to learn from them and hope for the best but expect the worse. A life full of fears and regrets isn't living." There you have it, by sister is fucking Gandhi.

"And when did you became all wise?"

She laughed and pinched me in the ribs. We stayed there holding each other for what felt like an eternity, until I felt her silent tears soaking my shirt.

"I just wished it never happened."

"Yeah, me too." I sighed, and held her closer. "Every second of every fucking day."

****

The next morning I rode with Alice to school. We were slowly going back to what we were. Emmett couldn't believe it when Alice told him she was riding with me, but I saw the smile that was creeping on his face.

When we arrived I was surprised to see that Bella was already there with Jasper and a girl I didn't know.

Me and Alice began walking towards them. When we reached them Bella introduced us to her friend, whose name was Leah.

They were talking about some party down at the beach in the weekend. But I was too busy having an internal debate with myself over something I thought about last night.

Right after I talked to Ali, some random thought stroked me like fucking lighting. If I wanted Bella, than I needed to fucking fight for her or some shit. I needed her to now that I was actually interested, so the only viable solution I could came out with, was asking her out. The problem here is, Edward Cullen doesn't date; back in Alabaster the girls' thing was easy, we just hanged out and fucked and that was it, we all got what we wanted. But somehow Bella deserved more, and I was going to _try_ to give it to her, even if I sucked at it. But the truth is I needed some serious help, because the last time I had to put a little effort in a girl was probably in kindergarten when I offered Sarah Green my cookie. And then it hit me: I'm a total fucking relationship-retarded and a freak.

But I mean come on, how hard could it really be?

I heard the bell rang, and then everyone scattered around to their classes.

"Hey Bella, wait a second." She stopped walking and turned to look at me, and once again her beauty left me speechless.

"Hey tiger what's up?" She plopped a Juicy Fruit in her mouth, and smiled at me.

I ran a hand through my hair, and avoided her eyes. "Nothing. Uhm, I was just thinking, that maybe you wanted to do something after school."

She gazed at me, with those fucking doe eyes and bit her lip. "Something like what?"

Well, fuck, I hadn't really thought about that part. "I don't… know? Maybe, like to the movies, or you know like dinner or something. We could go and hunt boars for all I know."

She laughed and my heart skipped a beat. Fucking pussy. "Boars huh? Nice." She replied, "How about dinner?" I nodded slowly. "Good, come pick me up around 8." She beamed at me and went into the building.

I stood there grinning like an idiot, until I noticed I was really fucking late, but I really couldn't care less. I had Calculus, so I really didn't mind if I skipped that class.

****

I had Spanish right before lunch with Jasper, so we walked together.

"Hey dude, do you know where Bella lives?"

He patted me in the shoulder, "Whoa man, is someone getting lucky tonight?" He asked raising his eyebrows.

"Shut up dude, I'm just taking her out."

He gave me an incredulous look, "Really? You?" I flipped him the bird, "Sorry dude, it's just that you don't seem like the 'date' type of guy. Well anyways, good for you." He then gave me the directions to find her house.

"Hey dude, uhm talking about dates, you wouldn't mind if I hang out with Alice do you?" He asked.

Fuck. I really didn't know what to say. I did mind, I mean like any other normal over protective brother I wished Alice wouldn't start dating before 30, but I had to be honest with myself, there was really no chance that that will ever happen. So I just shook my head, and kept my fucking mouth shut.

"But Jasper, just so you know, if you fuck her up I'm going to fuck _you_ up." I warned him.

"I'm a serious man dude. Don't worry." He smiled at me, and squeezed my shoulder, "Now, since you seem to be new to this whole 'dating' thing, I feel responsible for giving you some advices, in order for you to avoid embarrassment."

I laughed at him, "Okay Casanova, shoot."

"The first thing you need to know is that when you get to her house, you _have_ to go to the front door and knock, If her parents are there, you _need_ to introduce yourself," By now we had reach the table. "Girls feel like whores if you just honk for them to go out."

Holly mother of God, I always did that. Was that what girls thought of themselves when I did?

"Second, you need to compliment her. Like even if her shirt is horrible, you need to tell her what a beautiful piece of clothing it is." He was now nodding to himself, "And don't forget her hair. Girls have this stupid infatuation with their hair."

"Damn dude, I feel like a moron just by listening to this stuff."

"I understand man, but it will help you big time. Trust me. Now, once you get to the place you're going to have to open the door and that entire gentleman shit. Girls really dig that; and listen to this, it doesn't matter what they say, the man always pays the bill." He looked at me intently. "Understood?"

"Right. I'm the monetary fund. Even if she doesn't want to."

"Exactly." He scooted closer, "Ask her about things you are not really interested, like her family and school, and maybe things like her favorite movies and all that shit."

"But what if I'm really interested," I whispered.

He stared at me for a moment before chuckling, "Well compadre, then you are whipped."

I thought about it for a moment. I _was_ immune to the whip. I used to be unwhippable, the girls back in Alabaster tried to get a hold on me with all of their evil machinations, but they couldn't; had Bella changed that?

****

I was now reaching her house, it was easy to find since it was easily the biggest house among the neighborhood.

I turned the engine off and exhaled a big breath I didn't know I was holding.

_You have to go to the front door and knock, If her parents are there, you need to introduce yourself__…_

I remember Jasper's words and began walking to the door. I was fucking nervous as hell and didn't even know why. Wait a minute, I did know.

I knocked on the big fucking intimidating door and wait a couple of minutes. After what seemed like an eternity someone opened the door. It was a short lady, about 60 years old and dressed in one of those black and white uniforms.

"Hello," I said fidgeting with my hair. "Is Bella here?"

"Who bloody are you?" She had a fucking heavy Scottish accent.

"Uh, I am…" I felt like the fucking twilight zone, but just when I was about to answer her Bella came rushing from the stairs.

"Penny leave Edward alone." I looked up and almost choked, there was Bella, with a fucking black dress that fitted her like a fucking glove, and these fuck me blue heels, and I just wanted to crawl in bed with her. Her skin was glowing and her hair was even more shiny than usual, and she had this headband in her hair and I thought that she looked like a fucking gift I'd like to unwrap. She came closer and kissed me in the cheek. "Sorry this is my nanny Penny." I figured that her father wasn't home, since Jazz told me about how Mr. Swan was a busy man.

_If her parents are there, you need to introduce yourself._

Well, I still needed to introduce myself didn't I. I leaned over to Penny, since she was a pretty fucking short woman, and held out my hand. "Nice meeting you Penny, I'm Edward Cullen."

She looked surprised at my outburst but still shook my hand, "Nice meeting you as well young man." She had a strong grip.

"Okay Penny we're going now." She grabbed my hand and motioned me to start leading the way.

"Play nice kids!" I head Penny called after us.

I opened the door for her and she beamed at me. Nice move, Cullen.

I decided to go to this place in Port Angeles that Jasper told me had great food and shit. I suddenly remember what Jasper told me.

_Second, you need to compliment her._

I could almost see Jasper's proud face when I spoke, "You look really beautiful Bella. I like the uh, dress." Even if Jazz hadn't told me to, I would still tell her how beautiful she looked. Only a fucking moron wouldn't.

She smiled at me, "Thanks, I like your shirt too."

We started talking and it wasn't after long that she had me fucking laughing my ass out. It was then that I realized how fucking at ease I felt with Bella. It was natural to be with her, like fucking breathing. This was how relationships should be, easy and fun.

When we arrived I opened the door for her once again and she thanked me. We sat in a table at a corner and the candles made her look so fucking good. I literally couldn't concentrate with her looking like that. Candles in restaurants should be illegal.

After the waitress handed us the menus I asked Bella what she was going to ordered.

"What are _you_ going to order?" She replied.

I told her what I wanted and she grinned at me.

"Then I want the same he ordered," She said to the waitress.

I stared at her for a long moment until she realized, "What?"

"Why you did that?" I was really curious.

"You know how people always judge a book by its cover?" I nodded and she smiled, "Well, I figured it was more functional to judge a book by its diet."

I laughed so hard some people on the tables next to us stared at me, "You are something exceptional." I said still chuckling.

She leaned her head to one side and bit her lip, and in that fucking moment I knew it. Bella Swan had me whipped.


	4. Chapter 4

"How did it go dude?"

"Fucking… good actually."

"Details, man."

"You sound like a fucking chick. We just had a nice time."

"Nice time? Really?"

"Shut up ass: I think I'm in love… or some shit."

"Are you ducking kidding me? Wasn't this like your first date?"

"Okay maybe not in love… yet. But I really like her, a lot."

After dinner I took Bella home, I was really reluctant to leave her so I was fucking relieved when she asked me if I wanted to walk for a while. She took her fucking heels off and we started walking towards a park that was really close to her house. We were laughing and flirting and it was like nothing I've ever experienced before. Better than parties and just talking to girls, this felt… relevant. Like somehow this _date_ really made the difference, and that fact couldn't make me happy enough.

When we reached the park she decided she wanted to go on the swing, so yeah I pushed he for about 10 minutes. And she was all giggles and her hair was everywhere and she smelled like strawberries. I didn't even know what strawberries smelt like before I met her. She started asking me about my last school and I felt like I could just tell her everything, but I didn't. I couldn't. My throat was dry.

I asked her about what she wanted to do when she grew up; she told me that she wasn't planning to grow up. Ever. I smiled so hard at that that my mouth actually hurt. She was just, amazing, and special and everything I've been looking for in a girl, even if I didn't noticed I was looking before.

It was getting cold and I didn't want her sick or anything, I mean not after our first date, so I offered to take her home. She nodded but didn't move, and I just stood there like the fucking moron I am. She told me her feet hurt and just stared at me, as expecting for me to do something. I felt like in a stupid game show, were like you are about to win a million bucks, but if you get this one last question wrong you lose everything. She was my million bucks.

I scooted closer to where she was and asked her if I could carry her. She smiled at me and shrugged. I ended up carrying her in my back with her legs circled around my legs, one arm around my neck and the other holding her shoes. We started joking and laughing, it was just pure bliss. When we arrived something inside of me, like from my fucking soul, told me I should just run off with her in my back and never look back.

Unfortunately for me, I'm not a good listener, so I gently set her on her feet and turned to look at her. She thanked me and gave me a fucking sweet chaste kiss on the lips, this kiss was like one of those kisses that you see on movies and you think that it's such a fucking lame-ass kiss, but when it actually happens to you, you fucking understand the power and deep meaning of it. I wanted her to kiss me like that everyday, and then some frenchies too, if she wanted off course.

"Just remember, you break her heart and I'll break your nose," Jasper said, and then smirked at me, "And them some ribs too."

We had decided to ditch Latin, since we didn't understand much of it anyways, and went to the back of Building 3 to smoke some cigarettes.

I put the cig in my mouth and smiled, "Yeah right, like you could beat me at all."

"Easy there Zorro, I'm tougher than what I appear… Girls like them softie anyway."

****

Finally a class with her. But it had to be fucking English. Tyler told me their old English teacher almost had a stroke last semester, so he was been replaced.

I entered the room all excited and shit, and then Mike fucking Newton sat next to her, and Leah fucking 'I don't know her last name', sat on her other side. Perfect, just perfect.

I had to sit down next to fucking Mr. Miyagi.

"Hi, you must be new, I'm Eric," He said, but I was just too fucking hypnotized by the grease in his hair. He waited for me to say something, but I didn't so he decided the conversation was a duty he will carry out. "I already know who you are; I mean everybody's talking about you. You're Edward and you have two brothers. Are you dating Bella Swan? 'Cause she's like my dream dude, just don't tell her anything. Has she… said anything about me? I used to tutor her in Math… back in 8th grade."

For Christ's sake, he literally can't stop talking.

"I like her when she wears blue," He said, while eyeing Bella's shirt. Are you fucking kidding me? "But she still looks good in anything. I was going to ask her out tomorrow, hope you don't mind, it's not like you guys are something now. You don't know her like I do."

"Look bonsai, either you shut up or I beat the fuck out of you."

"Yes sir," He turned to look at the board, all nervous and shit. Great, now next to moron and asshole someone can write bully.

A man walked into the room, he had long hair, around the shoulders, he had a crooked noise and a funny mustache. He wore dark pants and a long sleeved shirt, and a pair of fucking Chucks. He had his earbuds on, and in that moment I would've kill to know what he was listening to. He left his few books on the table and turned to face the board. 'Mr. Marcus Volturi' he wrote. He turned and faced us, and finally took his earbuds off.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Mr. Marcus Volturi," he said pointing to the board, "but you obviously figured that on your own." There were a few chuckles from the guys on the front row. "I'm your new English teacher, and yes, I am Italian." He said with a smirk and a little bow. Even I laughed at that. "I want to know where you left off with the old teacher."

"Introduction to poetry," Mike said, with his stupid nasal voice.

"Okay," Mr. Volturi said, clasping his hands together, "Can someone tell me, why is poetry important?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"Okay, it seems like I have a bunch of moles in my class," He pointed to a shy looking girl, "You, answer."

"Because, hmm it helps us express… feelings?" You know when you eat a lemon and you make this fucking awful face, with your lips all pursed? That's exactly the face this girl had.

Mt. Volturi smiled, "I know you can do more than that. Come on kids, you're what? Seventeen? You're already out of creativity?" He then pointed to Bella. "Please, enlighten us."

"Poetry helps you strive to find your own voice." Bella said.

Mr. Volturi smiled and tilted his head, "What's your name again?"

"It's Bella." She said.

"Tell me more, dear ragazza." He sat in the teacher's desk and dangled his legs looking like a fucking kid.

Bella raised an eyebrow at him, "Well, I think humans are by nature passionate creatures, they need to express their deepest desires and sentiments… I guess poetry is what they need to hold on to sanity. And they pass this legacy to the next generations, a cry for them to believe in the power of words."

He stared at her with an awed look on his face, "Do you like poetry Ms. Bella?

"Actually, I don't." The whole class erupted in laughter. Mr. Volturi just smiled and shook his head. Bella was smiling too.

"I believe your mother is very proud of you young lady." He said, still chuckling.

At that moment the whole class went quiet, and Bella stiffened. I could only see her sideways, but I noticed that she was fucking glaring at the man. Her face, although beautiful, held the purest hatred and anger I have ever seen, and somehow it also reflected anguish and maybe shame. What the fuck?

Mr. Volturi just stood there, looking at everyone, trying to figure out what went wrong. Well, at least he wasn't the only one. I didn't understand anything.

After seconds, that seemed like hours, of Bella's hard stare, she stood up, took her books and just fucking exited the room, without a second glance to anyone.

I wanted to go after her, really wanted, but something in my guts told me Bella wanted to be alone. After _that_ fucking look I knew this was huge. I tried to think about it and the only thing that came to my mind was the comment he did about her mom. Did something happen to her?

I needed some answers, but I knew Bella wouldn't do it; she wasn't like the type that goes around telling everyone secrets. I thought about asking Jasper, but he wasn't in this class and the curiosity was killing me. Then, I realized it wasn't curiosity, it was more like I was really worried. I wanted to know everything about her, her secrets, her fears, her favorite songs and when her first kiss was. I wanted her to know _me_ too. Shit, I was losing it.

I turned to Eric and figured he was the only choice I had. The teacher decided to put aside what just happened, at least for a while, and keep going with the class. But I wasn't interested at all; I had bigger matters to attend.

"Hey Eric," I said, poking him in the shoulder.

He turned and looked rather shocked that I'd talk to him, "What?"

"Do you know what happened with Bella?" I felt like a fucking cheating bastard by doing this, but I needed to know. There was no turning back now.

Eric turned his head to look around the room to see if anyone was listening, satisfied with what he saw he turned again to face me, "Okay but don't say anyone I told you." I nodded and he continued, "My father is friends with her uncle, and he told him once. Everyone knows that the maternal issue is a touchy subject for Bella. No one ever mentions it; I mean at least you have a death wish or something. You'll never see her more pissed like when you mention her mother. See, my father told me that her mother married Bella's father very young. I don't know what happened next but after a couple of years, they seem to always fight and stuff. When Bella was like 12, her mother stopped taking her to school and she seemed to stay in the house all day long. Nobody ever talked about it, but we all knew something was wrong. Bella missed a hell lot of school those days, sometimes she didn't even talk, which was really weird since she was always joking with Jasper. The next thing we knew was that her mother died." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Her mother was dead? "She killed herself actually. Bella didn't even cry in the funeral, I guess it truly affected her. After that she changed, she was pretty popular, but it seemed like she didn't care what people told her, she ignored them and they didn't even realize it. She started pulling pranks with Jasper and the rest of her friends, she partied a lot, drank a lot, and I heard they even pulled out drugs in their little get togethers. I tell you man… she isn't over it."

I nodded, because hell I didn't know what to say, and turned to look at the board. This shit was serious; I couldn't fathom what it would be like if Esme suicide- I would probably never fully recover. What the fuck am I talking about? I would probably cry like a baby and stay in bed for the rest of my life. But Bella managed to show a fucking smile and make everyone's fucking days.

She was my hero.

****

I caught up with Alice after Calculus.

"Hey sis," She kept walking and I had to pick up my pace to keep with her. She was like a fucking bunny on steroids. "I need your help."

"Sure, about what?" She asked. After our whole confession and forgiving session we were treating each other pretty well. Things were almost like they were before.

"There's this girl, you know, and she's pretty bumped down, and I need something to make her feel better and you know what I douche I am, so I need like professional help, and you know how I only accept advice from the best. And you my dear sister are the best.

She smiled and started bouncing excitedly, "Is this girl Bella?"

I nodded reluctantly after a moment; I didn't want Alice spreading the word to everyone. In the end Bella would think I was a loser. Yeah, not happening.

Alice suddenly slowed to a halt and turned to face me, her eyes wide. "Oh my God!" The next thing I knew she had thrown herself at me, "I'm so proud of you."

"Ali, please." I mumbled.

She disentangled herself from me and opened her mouth several times before closing it again, "Bella Swan? Oh my God Edward. She's like perfect for you; she can totally put you in your place." She said, "But really Eddie?" I hated that fucking name, "You in a relationship? I don't even think that's possible, you hooked up with every slut back in Alabaster. How are you going to manage to settle down with only one girl?"

Well Alice, I could tell you the level of obsession and fascination I held for this girl, and how I know that when I fuck her I won't be able to look at any other girl, because Bella fucking owns me and she doesn't even know it, hell maybe she didn't even care, I really want to tell you all these things, but you'll probably laugh your ass out and I can't afford that kind of humiliation.

"What can I do for her? You know… something pretty special." I evaded her question and tried to distract her.

She obviously bit the bait and started thinking, really hard I hoped. "Well all girls like dinners, something romantic." She said, "But I think in this situation you ought to take her where she wants to go, try to hang out with her and her other friends. And then, you must take her for dinner at our place. Mom and dad will be delighted."

"Yeah, well I'll think about it. I have to go now, see you later." I left for my next class, leaving a happy Alice bouncing in the hallway.

****

I found her sitting in the benches at the football field, she had her earbuds on and she was fucking smoking. I would never forget that sight, because somehow Bella with a cigarette was one of the hottest things I've ever witnessed. I kept my eyes on her mouth while I approached. I looked for her in the cafeteria when it was lunchtime but I couldn't find her. I told Jasper what happened in English and he told me that she'd probably be here, and then he left muttering something about finding the fucking English teacher.

I sat next to her and even though she noticed I was right beside her, she didn't turn to face me. We stayed there quiet, staring at the field for about 10 solid minutes. Just when I thought I was going mad she spoke.

"How did you know I was here?"

We were still looking straight to the field, "Jasper told me."

She kind of smiled, "Off course he will."

I finally blurted the words I was desperately trying to hold, "Bella, what happened in English?"

She sighed and watched the cigarette burn out. "What are you talking about?"

I stood up exasperated, "Come on Bella, don't do this. You know what the fuck I am talking about. You left in the middle of the class for no apparent reason, all the while killing Mr. Volturi with your glare."

She dropped the cig and stared at me long and hard, "Fuck. Off."

"Bella please just talk to me."

She stood up as well and laughed bitterly. "You don't even know me. I don't owe you any explanation. So fuck off Cullen." She was dead serious, and from the look on her face I knew she wasn't one to mess up with, but I needed her to trust me.

"Is this about your mom?" I said.

Her jaw flexed and her whole body stiffened. "Do not talk about her. Ever." Her eyes hold anger and hatred; I could feel the fucking fire and rage coming off of her like waves.

"It's not your fault; you can talk to someone about it."

She realized I knew about her mother. "Listen up ass, I don't know who told you all of this, but it is not any of your business. You don't know shit about me, or my family. None of this people does, so back off and leave me alone."

She started to walk away from me but I just couldn't let that happen. I needed to make things right, I needed her to be right.

I grabbed her by the arm and spun her so she was facing me, our faces were inches apart, and I could feel the fucking electricity in the air. I knew she feel it too.

I took her face gently between my hands, and in that moment she looked so fragile, like a little girl who was lost and just needed someone to lead the way. I kissed her forehead and her eyes fluttered close. "Don't hide from me. Please."

I started kissing every inch of her face. First her nose, then her cheeks until finally my lips found hers. It was like the whole world just stopped spinning. The moment our lips touched, I knew that this was it. I didn't want anybody else, I wanted her, period. And I was going to fight for her.

I captured her lower lip between my teeth and she moaned.

_She. Fucking. Moaned._

I instantly got incredibly hard, and my jeans felt suddenly confined. Her tongue slowly made her way towards my parted lips and I fucking felt a steady guttural growl vibrating through my chest. We kissed for a long time, just enjoying the feeling. It was my personal heaven.

I slowly pulled away from her, and noticed her eyes were still closed. I rubbed her cheeks gently and waited for her to be ready to face me, face _us. _

She sighed and her eyes fluttered open after a while. I was nervous as shit, I didn't want her to be pissed at me for kissing her and then leave me here. I couldn't stand that.

"Sorry."

She looked puzzled, "Sorry for what?"

"Kissing you without asking first."

She chuckled and looked up at me, "You should never apologize for doing something like that. I've always found the unexpected pretty exciting."

I laughed and kissed her forehead again. "Well, then sorry for bringing up the menstrual issue."

She smiled, "Don't you mean maternal?"

"Maternal, menstrual, same thing."

She laughed again, and shook her head, "You're unbelievable."

"You forgive me?" She nodded. "But Bella you'll have to talk to me about it sometime, I don't mean to sound like a fucking prick trying to pressure you, but I care about you and I want to know everything about you, and I know I don't anything about you, but I'm more than willing to try and be part of you. I know it's all pretty fast, but this thing, this electricity that I feel when I'm with you, I know you can feel it too. We can't just ignore it. It'll be like fucking illegal in the world of cupid or something." What the fuck did I just said?

"You're sweet," She said smiling.

"So you agree with me?" I said, hoping like hell she will.

"No." My heart literally stopped beating. "But I'm willing to try anyway."

I grinned and spun her around while she squealed. She was amazing, and now she will be only mine, I mean we're not like boyfriend and girlfriend… yet, but still this was a big step.

"And about the maternal issue, I'll talk to it when I'm ready, but I'm not promising anything." I nodded, because right now I seriously didn't care. She wanted to try, and I was more than pleased.

"We're going out tonight." I stated.

"Great way to start this; making decisions without asking me." She said jokingly.

Fuck. "Sorry, I'll try again. You want to go out tonight?"

She laughed but nodded. "Where do you want to go?" Bella asked.

I thought for a moment and then spoke, "How about if we hang out with Jazz and the rest of your friends today?"

She beamed at me, "I think that's a perfect idea."

6 hours later we were in Bella's place, drunk and laughing our asses out. And still it couldn't have been more perfect. She was my _now_.

She would be mine. I would tell her everything about my past, because if she was opening herself to me, then I could fucking do it too. Even if it killed me in the process, I just cared about her that much. I wouldn't fuck this up, I would make everything right and always think about it first.

Yeah, easier said than done.


	5. Chapter 5

"What are you thinking?" Bella asked as she sat next to me during lunch.

I smiled at her before answering, just because she looked so beautiful, sometimes it amazed me how an individual could be so perfect. She had a loose braid today that went all over her back until her waist. She had a yellow dress, since it was supposed to be a sunny day. I was freezing, but that was just me, she managed to make it look as if we were on the beach. Her cheeks were flushed as per usual, and her eyes were shining right back at me. "I was thinking that you should come over to my house for dinner tonight." I said while smiling crookedly at her.

She bit her lip and after a moment started nodding excitedly, "Off course. Why didn't you ask me before?" And with that she threw herself at me and kissed me in the cheek. I suddenly felt relieved, for a moment there I thought she was going to say no. Since the day in the bleachers things have gone pretty smoothly. We were going slowly, and even though we still weren't a couple we had this strange but awesome connection that neither of us could deny, or at least I knew I couldn't.

I held her in my lap and smiled back at her, "I was waiting for the right moment," I nuzzled my nose in her neck because, fuck she just smelled too good. She started giggling and I smiled against her neck, "What are you giggling about?"

She laughed even more audibly now and tried to stand up but I held her even closer, "I'm ticklish Edward!" She said between fits of laughs.

"Hmm…" I murmured, "That's good to know," I started kissing her just below her earlobe just to hear her laugh again, and she didn't disappoint. I gave her one last kiss that lingered on her skin and let her go, "I'm picking you up at 5."

She grabbed my pizza and started eating it, "I can't at 5, maybe at 6:30. It's that alright?"

I nodded, but I felt a sudden curiosity as to what she had to do. "Why you can't at 5?" I asked as if it wasn't a big of a deal.

"I have something to do." She said as she took a sip from my lemonade.

"Oh, okay." I said while trying not to stare at her, and her perfect blush.

She stopped chewing and stared at me with her big doe eyes, "Do you want to come?" She asked.

I didn't know what to do, normally girls had this kind of strange language, when you think they wanted you to say 'yes' in reality they wanted you to say 'no' or vice versa. I figured that honesty was better, and my curiosity was definitely killing me. "Sure. Can I ask where are we going?"

I knew she was going to say no even before I asked, but hey, at least I needed to try.

"I hope you're not taking me to an Astronomy Secret Club or something," I teased her while eating an apple.

She gasped, and gazed at me with wide eyes. "Oh shit Bella, I didn't mean to." I reached desperately for her hands but she was covering her face with them as to stifle her cries. "Fuck Bella don't cry, please, I'll do anything. We can go to the Astronomy Club; I'll even build you a telescope but please don't cry." I couldn't resist seeing a woman crying, but seeing Bella was like my own personal hell.

I was ready to go on my knees and start begging when she let out a strangle chuckle. She was laughing for Christ's sake!

"Oh my God Edward! You are too cute really!" She said still chuckling.

I knew for sure my mouth was hanging open. "I can't believe you," I said as I sat back in my chair. I shook my head, "God Bella, you scared me."

She sat in my lap again and hugged me, "I'm sorry, it was just too funny to ignore," She beamed at me, and when she smiled like that, specially at me, I couldn't refuse her anything.

"You are forgiven Mrs. Swan," We were still laughing when her phone started ringing.

"Hello?" She said to whoever was the motherfucker that interrupted _my _moment with her. "Yeah, sure. I'll be there just after school. Love you too, bye." Bella hung up and smiled at me. "That was Jasper," She said after noticing my curious look. I was very curious these days. "He's sick and needs my cares." She laughed but I still didn't understand why he didn't call somebody else. And then it hit me: They were fucking best friends. And she was also close with fucking Jacob 'my-teeth-are-brighter-that-the-sun' Black.

"Great" I whispered.

"Sorry, what?" Bella asked, but I was fucking saved by the bell. Literally.

"Nothing, come on we have English." I said while taking her hand.

"Ugh, do we need to go?" She half-groaned, and it was so sexy I almost faltered in my walk.

"Yes, you can't miss more classes." I said, using my Carlisle tone. She laughed and jumped in my back. I was grinning like an ass when we reach the classroom. Eric looked like he was about to kill me, but I couldn't care less. I dropped her carefully in her seat and proceed to sit in the chair beside her. Mr. Volturi called our attention and began writing something in the board. Things between him and Bella have been good since the incident. I learned fast that Bella wasn't necessarily the most forgiving person in the planet, but she was all laughs and happy all the time that things between her and someone else couldn't be tense for long.

'Poetry Slam' he had written in the board.

"Okay everyone listen up," Mr. Volturi said while taking his usual place in the table. "We're having a big event coming up- the Poetry Slam which is being held at the end of the year. It is basically where you are going to prove to me that you've learned something this year. You are going to recite a poem of choice, but it has to be made by you, so don't come with someone else's poem because believe me guys, I'll know. It is time for you to look deep into your souls and recognize the savage poet that lives within yourselves." He clapped his hands together, "So those of you who want to participate please sign your name in this sheet of paper." He passed it to the first guy in the row who passed it to the girl besides him without even looking at the paper, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, this represents 40% of your final grade." Everyone groaned and the first guy reached out to write his name. I didn't care if I failed, I wasn't going to do any fucking poem, I wasn't good with words, just with music.

When the paper got to Bella she passed it to me without giving it a second glance. I stared at her, with my eyebrows raised, "Aren't you going to do it?" She shook her head while doodling in her notebook. I passed the paper without signing either, but I knew my reasons were very different than hers. I decided not to pressure her for now.

When the class was over we parted ways, she had Government and I had Calculus. I liked Calculus, I was good with numbers. Ever since I remember, math was something my parents didn't need to worry about. We've been in Forks for only two weeks, but I already knew practically everyone, still I only talked to those I remotely liked, and those I could count with my hands. My first weekend here I spend it hanging out with Jasper and his friends, which included Bella. Unfortunately for me I became the object of fixation of sluts such as Lauren Mallory, Jessica Stanely and Tanya Denali. But the funny thing is that ever since they saw me with Bella they have been a little less annoying with me. I realized then that Bella was probably the most popular girl in school, and either she didn't care or she didn't notice. She didn't act like the stuck up bitch she was supposed to be; on the other hand, Bella was funny and caring and compassionate, she talked to everyone, from dorks like Eric to assholes like Mike Newton. She made jokes out of almost everything, and nobody ever said something bad about her. It was like people actually like her, and even though she cared about them, their opinions didn't affect her in the slightest. She didn't follow, she imposed.

I couldn't begin to describe her, she was just _everything_ but also unlikeanything I've ever seen. She acted on impulse and didn't fear the consequences. She did what she wanted, simple as that. People here respected her, they looked up to her; girls like Lauren and Tanya didn't dare challenge her, even when Bella was all smiles and laughs with them. Bella never talked bad about anyone, she never had to, nobody ever gave her reason to. I could compare her to a hurricane, she came without warning and fucking destroy whatever little order you had in your life, but fuck if it wasn't the most amazing thing anyone could ask for. Her perfect smile could brighten the fucking darkest of days.

"Mr. Cullen, are you done with your little inner chat there?" I raised my head to see a very displeased Mrs. Jones looking at me with those ugly glasses and a look of disapproval in her face. Fuck if I cared.

I heard some snickers but I was never affected by other people's stupidity, "Sure." I said while I ignored her attempt to explain some equations. Really, I couldn't control my curiosity revolving around the fact I had no fucking idea where Bella was taking me. We could either do something incredibly wild and stupid, or I had no fucking idea. She really was a mystery to me, and that fascinated me.

"And where are you going?" Alice asked as she spotted me sitting in the living room.

"Out," I muttered without looking at her.

She plopped besides me on the couch with a bowl of ice cream, "Don't say dumbass, I mean, with whom are you going?" She pointed her finger at me, with a sly smile on her face.

"Why you ask questions you already know the answers to," I said running my hands through my hair. Cullen trait.

"Because I like to see you squirm," she said with a very serious tone.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Should I call you Jigsaw?"

She laughed, and at the same moment I heard my phone going off. I said goodbye to Alice, and made my way to the Bella's car. I still thought she was way too small for that car.

"Hey tiger," Bella said as soon as I closed the door.

"Hey yourself," I said as I kissed her on the forehead. See, it was moments like these that I realized Bella brought a new side of me, and he was a pussy.

"So, where are we going?" I asked after a while.

She smiled at me, but shook her head. "Patience isn't really one of your traits, right?"

I chuckled and smiled crookedly at her, "Guess not."

We finally arrived to a big house, near the outskirts of town I noticed. The lawn was perfect, and so where the flowers, and the painting and everything. It looked like someone really put effort in the outside of the place. There were some swings that looked barely used.

I saw a big motherfucking dog near the front door; as soon as Bella hopped off the car he came running towards her, all excited and shit, as if he knew her. Bella kneeled and Fido there almost made her stumble back, she started petting him. How lovely, Bella and the Beast.

"Hey boy," She said while running her hands through his head, and in that moment I envied the fucking dog. She turned to look at me, "Don't you want to meet Hercules?"

Hercules? Was she fucking serious? I nodded, "Sure," I came closer but made no attempt to touch the Beast. "Hello Hercules, I'm Edward."

Bella rolled her eyes at me, but laughed. "Pay no attention to Mr. Monk here."

I grinned at her sarcastically but still didn't dare came close to the dog, "What kind of dog is that anyway?"

She smiled as he licked her face, "He's an English Mastiff; you won't find a bigger dog out there,"

"Don't say," I muttered. Really the animal seemed to weigh 200 pounds, and it was fucking taller than Jacob Black. In fact, besides being taller than him, the only difference I could find between the two was that Black's teeth were whiter. I stand by my theory that he's a dog, or a fucking close relative to Hercules here, the way he follows her and jumps when he sees her, but still could destroy any other individual, yeah sounds familiar.

"What are you smiling about?" I was cut out of my day-dreaming by Bella's voice.

I laughed and threw my arm around her tiny shoulders, "Nothing, come on lets go inside."

She chuckled, and God if it didn't make my heart flutter, "Sure, I forgot your patience issues."

When we arrived to the door she knocked twice, and then once more. After a second, a little girl opened the girl, she was no more than 10. She was incredibly skinny, with blonde hair and a really menacing stance.

"You are late," She said as looked at Bella with an eyebrow raised. "You are never late." Late for what?

"Sorry Krista, something came up," Bella took my hand and led me inside the house. "Promise it won't happen again." She said flashing an adorable smile at Krista, she leaned in and kissed her cheek, and just like that she had her dazzled like all of us.

"Okay," Krista said smiling, all excited now. "He's waiting for you," Then her eyes fell on me, as if she just realized I was standing there, "Who are you?"

I cleared my throat, "My name is Edward,"

She nodded, "Are you the reason she is late?" She pointed to Bella.

Fuck, why are kids now so intimidating? "Uh, I guess." Bella was chuckling quietly besides me, "Late for what?"

Krista eyed Bella and put her hands in her hips, "You haven't told him?" Bella shook her head still smiling. She always smiled. "He's just gonna love this you know? I'm gonna go get some lemonade." She turned on her heels and headed towards what I assumed was the kitchen.

"What the fuck was that?" I said after the little Hitler was gone.

Bella started leading me towards the stairs, "She is a cupcake once you get to meet her, but I find her intimidating personality very appealing, don't you?"

I snorted, "Yeah sure, she'll have Eric Yorkie pissing his pants after 10 minutes,"

She laughed and stopped in front of a door, "Okay, here we are." She said smiling.

"Bella, here where?" I asked, I was worried now, with the fucking Inquisition downstairs.

She didn't answer but instead opened the door. We were inside a big room, I noticed immediately that the walls were a deep blue, and there was a Morrison poster. There was a big flat screen, and a computer. I also noticed the couch and the guitar resting in a corner. I tried to absorb everything, to look at everything so as to ignore the person lying on the bed. Did I say person? I meant corpse.

It looked like a guy, about our age, with incredibly pale skin, translucent even. He had brown hair, it looked a little like mine, a constant mess. He had purple marks under his eyes, and all the fucking veins were sticking out. But the thing that caught my attention was the tubes coming out of his nose. He looked like he was literally dead, except for the fact that we could all hear his troubled breathing. I felt bad for the guy, but what were we doing here?

"You are late," a voice coming said. I didn't notice right away it was him since his eyes were still closed. He suddenly opened them and a easy smile fell on his face, "Or so I've heard."

Bella smiled too, and went to sit on the bed next to him, she leaned and kissed his cheek, and then took his hand, "Three minutes. Krista is getting tougher on me by the day," she said.

His blue eyes were fucking glowing, and he was grinning as if he won the lottery. It seemed as if some color returned on his face, like if he came to life again. And then I knew it, he loved her.

"I missed you," he said stroking her cheek.

"Me too," Bella said quietly, only to him. I felt like an intruder in that moment. I was about to leave when Bella turned around and her big doe eyes fell on me. "Hey tiger, come here. I want to introduce you to someone,"

I walked slowly to the end of the bed, and for no fucking reason I felt nervous. "Edward this is Benjamin. Benjamin this is Edward." She said pointing from me to him, and then from him to me.

"Uh, nice meeting you dude." I said.

He smiled at me, and I could sense he was a good guy. His eyes reminded me of Bella's, all wide and compassionate, but also eyes that scared you, that held dreams and emotions bigger than you; eyes that could read you. "Hey man," he said offering his hand, I took it and was caught by surprise at how strong his grip was.

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't quite find something smart to say, "So, you play guitar?" I said pointing to the instrument.

"I used to," Benjamin said.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to ask what happened, so I just said, "Oh,"

"So I guess Bella tricked you into coming?" He said while gazing back at Bella.

"You could say so, she's really persuasive you know." I said, relaxing a little bit.

He smiled at her, "Yes, I know."

"Oh my God! It's almost 5:30, I'm going to get your pills. Be right back." She said while kissing him in the forehead. As she passed me our fingers touched and she gave me an encouraging smile. What the hell that meant? Was I supposed to stay alone with him? What was I going to say?

Once she was gone we fell in an uncomfortable silence, "So… how do you know Bella?" I asked.

"We've known each other since we were 4. We used to hang out a lot, then I became sick and we started hanging out in my room," he said laughing, but I could see the longing in his eyes.

"When did you became sick?" I asked, feeling a little bad, but my curiosity was killing me.

"They diagnosed me with leukemia two years ago, I was doing really well but then I developed pulmonary fibrosis from the radiation of the treatment," he said, as if he was talking about his day.

"Woah dude," I said, feeling shocked. "I- I don't know what to say,"

He smiled at me, "Don't say anything, it's no big deal, really."

"I guess you get use to it, right?"

He shook his head, his eyes gentle, "You never get used to it, you just come to terms with it." I nodded, "So how do you know Bella?"

"From school, I just moved here," I said, feeling the tension grow lighter.

"School. The only thing I don't miss," he joked. And just like that the tension was broken.

By the time Bella came back we were discussing hockey, and joking around. Benjamin was a cool guy, I could've easily be friends with him if he was in our school. Bella explained to me that Benjamin needed a new set of lungs, but donors were scarce, and with the risk of cancer coming back he wasn't an ideal candidate, but still they were both positive, Bella a little more than him. It seemed as if he just stayed optimistic for her sake, rather than his.

We were silent the whole ride to my place. When we parked in front of my house I thought I had screwed up big time.

"Do you know why I brought you with me today?" She asked to me. I shook my head, "Benjamin has few friends- he was a popular guy, but after everyone found out about his cancer they just disappeared, and the few that did seemed to support him started not caring after a while. It pissed me off, because he's so much more than just that. His condition doesn't define him, he needs to know that. Lately I feel like he's just giving up. I won't let him give up; I want him to understand that he still can go on. I brought you today Edward, because I need you to understand that it's not easy for me to let people in, I'm used to watching them leave me. I told you that I was willing to try to get to know you, so that you could get to know me, but you need to know that this is hard for me. Showing you things I've never let anyone know before. So if you're freaked out or something I would totally understand if you decided to end this, but if you're not I hope you understand that my life is complicated and I'm breaking my own rules now by even telling you all of this." She never took her eyes from the dashboard.

I gently took her hands in mine, and waited until she looked at me, "I won't leave you." I said and then I kissed her. Gently and softly. I took her face in my hands, "Come on, let's get you something to eat," She chuckled, just as I kissed her nose, then her forehead and then her lips again, "You smell like Hercules." She slapped me in the arm, and I laughed.

"You're going to pay for that Cullen," she said.

"Oh yeah?"

She smiled deviously, "I won't let you kiss someone that smells like a dog," She hopped off the car and had me chasing her to the front door. Bella made me happy, and that was all I needed to know, I'll deal with the fucked up stuff later.


	6. Chapter 6

"The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good, on you!"

APOV

I heard laughter downstairs and instantly knew that my brother had arrived with Bella.

I checked myself in the mirror, and decided I looked presentable for our first family dinner with Edward's potential love interest. I opted for an outfit that showed my personality, but that was a little conservative, I always say that first impressions are important, but so are the rest of the times people meet you. I liked the whole getting ready process; some people could say I am pretentious, but I am just a helpless soul concerned with the well being of my peers, and their discovery of their style. I firmly believe that there is no such thing as a bad-dressed person, just a little scared kid seeking for help and advice. That's where I come in.

Ever since I turned 9 and discovered what couture was I knew that it was my destiny. By growing up with two brothers some people would assume I turned out a tomboy, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Ever since I could remember it has been my job in this family to introduce them to the benefits of designer clothes. But I don't judge people on what brands they wear- I mean they can get extra points if it's Marc Jacobs- I always look out for the way they carry themselves. Clothes can tell a lot about someone, but their style can tell even more. Some people can't see the difference between the two, but I do- it's a gift.

"Alice dear, hurry up!" I heard my mom calling.

I put on a headband and checked myself one last time in my full-length mirror. Perfect.

I strolled down the stairs until I reached the living room. I immediately saw my brother whispering something in Bella's ear, and then both starting laughing. They were so adorable. She was wearing a knee-length skirt, with the cutest shirt and heels. Her long hair was left loose, and I noticed a blush in her cheeks that had nothing to do with make-up. She looked very adept to meet my parents, and I knew she did it on purpose since just this morning in school she was wearing a yellow summer dress. Finally someone that understood my passion with clothes.

Bella's eyes met with mine and she smiled sweetly, "Hi Alice," She stood up from the couch and walked to where I was, and gave me a hug. "I've been waiting for you, by the way, nice skirt." Ever since our first shopping spree Bella and I kind of formed a bond, we were becoming close friends very fast. I couldn't be more pleased that she was kind of dating my brother.

"Kids the dinner is ready," My mom said as she entered the room. "Bella it's so nice having you here," She said smiling to Bella.

She smiled back, "Oh, it's my pleasure really Mrs. Cullen. You have a very beautiful house."

My mom´s eyes sparkled excitedly. Yeah, she was an interior's designer, and she decorated the whole house, "Thank you so much sweetie, I'm so glad you like it." She continued, "Now come on, it's getting cold."

We followed her into the dinner table, where we proceeded to sit. Edward on the head, Bella besides him, me besides her and my mom on the other side of Edward.

"Sorry I'm late, football practice," Emmett said as soon as he entered the room. He was dirty from head to toes, but one of Em's dimpled smiles and all was forgiven. He passed and gave us each girl a kiss on the head, my brother was a gentleman like that.

As soon as he took the seat besides my mom Bella spoke, "So Em, I heard you made it on the team,"

At that my brother's chest rose with pride, "Yep, head quarterback," He said as he scooped a forkful of pasta.

"That's great, I'll make sure to cheer you the most," Bella said. She was head cheerleader, and unlike most of them, she didn't look slutty at all on her uniform. Some girls needed to understand that it's not intelligent to show off everything in a slutty uniform; it leaves nothing to the imagination. It is better to show only a certain amount of skin that leaves guys wondering in the middle of the night about what else is there. Teasing sometimes is better than pleasing, and Bella knew that very well.

"Oh Alice," She continued looking at me now, "Try outs are next week. I heard you were interested."

Off course I was interested. I was co-captain in my last school, "Oh my God, totally. You'll be amazed by my skills."

She grinned at me, "Don't think by any chance that just because you are my friend I'm gonna go easy on you," She winked at me, "I don't play favorites,"

My whole family laughed at that. "Hey mom, where's dad?" Edward asked.

She answered without looking at him, "He's working late today,"

"Off course," he muttered, but we all heard him.

"So…" Bella said as to distract us, "Are you excited with next week's activities?"

"What activities?" My mom asked curiously.

I was so excited I needed to say it, "It's the Back to School festivities mom. It's so cool; see I've done my research. Every year at the beginning of the year the student council organizes activities as to promote school's spirit. So it's basically a healthy competition that goes for three days, you can get together in groups of four, but the catch is that its only between Juniors and Seniors, and they cannot get mixed together. The winner receives money that will off course be donated to charity, and the title of 'Back to School' champions." Everyone was looking at me now, "What? I was mildly curious."

Bella's laugh broke the silence, "Well Alice is right. This is the first year I'm gonna be able to participate, and I have no desire to lose,"

At that Em smirked, "Well sorry to disappoint you, but you won't get a chance until next year, when I'm gone."

"Don't underestimate me champ," Bella said, raising an eyebrow.

"Seriously though, if this stuff is purely physical then you guys don't stand a chance." Emmett said matter-of-factly.

"Each group must two guys and two girls." Bella explained, "And by the way, sometimes muscle isn't as useful as you think."

"Bella!," I interrupted, "We should totally be together!"

She grinned at me, "That would be amazing. We can pair up with Jasper and Edward." She turned to my brother, "What do you think?"

He smiled only at her, "You tell me where and I'll be there." Yep, definitely whipped.

She returned the smile sweetly, "This will be great," I said, interrupting their little moment. At that moment Bella's phone started ringing. My mom took the opportunity to scatter over to the kitchen, probably to call my dad.

"I thought you'll never call," Bella said into the receiver. And I knew in that moment who was calling her. Jasper.

Ever since I met both Jasper and Bella I knew they had this strange connection. I didn't know if they were best friends, or considered themselves as family, or as something more. I just knew that they told each other everything, and that they were together most of the time. Alone. They came together to school every day, and they hang out together every weekend and even after school. I would love to say that they were just very good friends, but the truth is that it didn't look very much like a friendship to me. I don't know, maybe it's just me. Edward hasn't had any problem with Jasper yet, and he has this thing with Bella. I, on the other hand, couldn't be farther from having something with Jasper.

We hung out once, and I was sure it was going great, but then he didn't call the next day. An in school he treated me like Edward's sister; I tried everything, from fantastic outfits, to pouring water "accidentally" in the front of my shirt during P.E. Nothing seemed to work, he was immune to everything. In my whole life I've never had problems with guys. Ever. But then he always had time and eyes for Bella. They were inseparable, and I didn't fucking knew how my brother could stand it.

Let's take for example Monday. I was sitting in the cafeteria with Jasper and a guy named Tyler, I was trying to make conversation and he was actually responding. I was just telling him about how I couldn't understand some Calculus problems, and then I asked him if he could help me. He immediately agreed and when I got my notebook I noticed his eyes were fixed on a table across the room. A lazy smile fell on his face and he told me he had something to do.

I turned around and noticed he was approaching a table full of seniors, the popular crowd, and off course, there was Bella talking to Emmett and a bunch of other guys. Jasper sat next to her and said something that made everyone laughed.

I fixed my stare on my notebook and felt the blood creeping up my neck and cheeks.

So yeah, I was a little pissed, but for good reason. I'm not the jealous type; I never had a reason to be. I was constantly the center of attention, and here, well it was Bella, and I kinda felt out of place. It wasn't like I didn't like her, because I did, we had a lot of things in common and we always had something to talk about, and she was also incredibly funny and generous, I just wasn't used to being number two.

"Yeah, great. I'll call you later. Love you too," Bella said before she hung up. "Sorry about that, it was an emergency. Tomorrow there is this party at Sam's, and you're all going," She said, more a fact than a suggestion.

"Finally!" Emmett's voice boomed through the entire house, "I'm in great need of a tequila induced stupor,"

Bella smiled at him, "Well then, it's your lucky day."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow," My brother said kissing her temple. She just smiled and nodded.

I was still surprised at how much Edward had changed, since we moved here. Before he never respected women, he literally treated them like dirt. He fucked them and then he left them. I never really cared, as long as he didn't mess up with my friends. Everything was perfect, until that day…

"Alice hello, are you there?" Bella's voice broke my out of my reverie.

"Sorry what were you saying?" I said.

"I asked if you wanted to go shopping after school for the party," She said.

That was enough to make me excited again, "Off course, I was totally thinking the same thing." And just like that Jasper's issue was left behind.

****  
After Bella was gone I went to Edward's room. I entered without knocking and found him in his computer in only his boxers.

"Hello big brother," I said while plopping down on his bed.

"Haven't you heard about knocking?" He said without looking at me.

"Haven't you heard about laundry?" I said while picking what I assumed was once a shirt, "Gross Edward, this place is a mess."

"Thank you," he muttered, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"So… things with Bella are going good I guess," I started, looking expectantly at him.

"Mhmm," he muttered, still not looking at me.

I tried once more, "But still, you guys aren't like exclusive, and she's around a lot of guys all the time,"

"Mhmm," Asshole.

"I'm totally glad that you don't freak out about her close relationships with other people. I mean, know I would go crazy if that ever happened to me," I said.

My dear brother turned around and looked at me with a dead serious expression on his face. Bingo. "What is it that you want Alice?" He asked.

I started fidgeting with some papers in his bed, feigning an innocent look, "Oh, I don't know, it's just that Bella is just a good friend with everyone. Let's take uhm I don't know, maybe Jasper for example. She seems really close to him, aren't you worried about that?"

"No, because they are just friends," He said slowly, as if trying to convince himself rather than me.

"Oh, I know," I said smiling to him, "but, you don't think they have something right? I mean they just happen to hang out a lot, and tell each other everything and I don't know, I just feel incredibly proud that you are so okay with it."

"Yeah," he muttered, looking to the floor. Yep, this was working.

"I mean, it's not your fault that Bella seems to be always surrounded by guys," I shook my head and chuckled, "Oh, but what am I saying. Silly me, you probably don't have anything to worry about. Bella trusts you and you trust her, right?"

He snorted, "Off course, there's no secrets between us."

I gasped, "Have you told her about Tanya?"

His whole body stiffened at the sound of her name, "That secret is not only mine; I wouldn't tell her without telling you first,"

I stood up and walked to the door, I stopped in the doorframe and turned to look at him, his eyes were still fixated on the floor, "Let's just hope Bella has no more secrets to tell." And with that I left the room.

I wasn't a bitch. I didn't do that for nothing.

It things went as planned, then Edward would talk to Bella and she would stay away from Jasper.

Nobody gets hurt. Yeah, I'm so smart.

I wasn't sure if Edward had already talked to Bella, but he was sulking the whole way to school.

"Edward are you okay?" I asked, looking at him.

He didn't answer; instead he kept looking straight ahead.

"Edward?" I tried again, touching his shoulder.

He shook his head, like if I just wake him up from a dream, "Oh yeah sorry, what were you saying?" He asked.

"I asked if you… oh never mind." The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

Once in the school we spotted Emmett talking to Rosalie and a bunch of other people. We approached them, and began talking too. There was this guy James, who was really nice. He was a Junior too.

"Hey Ali, how you doing?" He asked, smiling and showing off his adorable dimples.

I grinned at him, "Amazing and you?"

"Better now that you are here," He said, offering to take my bag, "Do you want me to walk you to your homeroom?"

James had brownish hair, kind of a cowboy type, he was lean but I could still see some muscles under his shirt. He had an amazing smile, and amazing deep blue eyes.

Jasper had blue eyes too.

"Oh, no it's okay James, thank you," I gently declined.

"Oh alright," his face fell a little, "What are you doing this weekend? Do you want to grab a bite or something? I mean, if you don't have anything to do." He said, smiling that sweet smile of his.

"I'm sorry, but I can´t this weekend," I said, feeling bad for him, but I wasn't interested in someone other than my surfer boy.

"Oh okay," he said, kind of taking the hint, "Maybe some other time."

I kind of nodded, and just then I heard a car coming in. A Jaguar- Jasper was driving it, while Bella sat in the other seat. They were laughing together, and once they came out of the car he began tickling her.

They looked like a fucking couple to me. It seems like Edward didn't talk to Bella at all.

I turned to see my brother and noticed he was looking at them as well, with his hands clenched in fists and his jaw tensed.

Bella approached him and kissed him in the cheek, and began whispering something to him. He relaxed and a slow smile set on his lips.

She had him dazzled beyond repair. It seemed like everything was on me, as usual.

The rest of the day went slowly, and need I say, boring. I went to the bathroom during chemistry, and found Bella there too, applying lipstick. She was with Rosalie, who as usual was silent.

"Hey Alice," She greeted me.

"Hi girls," I said, and went to check up my make-up.

"How's your day so far?" Bella asked.

"Great," I said, smiling as hard as I could. "And yours?"

"So far so good," she replied.

I nodded, and applied more mascara, "So, you rode with Jasper today."

She had a confused look on her face, "Yeah, we always ride together."

"Yeah, I've noticed. You seem to do everything together."

She smiled sweetly at me, "Excuse me?"

I turned around to meet her gaze, "Look Bella, I am going to say it straight out. I think you have something with Jasper, and I won't stand you making my brother look like an idiot." There, I said it.

Rosalie started to say something but Bella interrupted her, "No Rose, its okay. I can handle it." She never stopped looking at me, "So tell me Alice, what do you think is going between me and Jasper?" She asked, raising an eyebrow but never leaving her relaxed stance.

Something inside my head told me I should just leave the bathroom, but I didn't, "I think you two are hooking up Bella, and even though my brother and you are not official I won't let you go and break his heart,"

"So this is about your brother?" She asked, smiling again, "Funny thing, because it sounds to me like this is about you being incapable of having something with Jasper."

I've never seen Bella like this, and she was intimidating, and she was still fucking smiling. "This has nothing to do with it!" I said, feeling the blush creeping up my neck and cheeks. "This has to do with you being a liar and a slut, hooking up with Jasper behind my brother's back!" I was starting to breathe heavily. I was starting to get nervous, and there was Bella, smiling at me and looking as if we were talking about clothes.

I turned to look at Rosalie and she was looking at the wall, biting her lip.

"Well Alice," Bella said, cocking her head to the side, "It looks like we'll have to cancel our shopping trip today."

I looked her straight in the eye, "Yeah well, it looks like it." And with that I took my purse and left the bathroom.

I went back to my class and started thinking of what just happened.

Maybe I did a big mistake.

Maybe no one stood up to her.

Maybe I was going to regret it.

Bella was always so sweet, that I sometimes forgot that she was Forks' queen bee. Maybe I destroyed our friendship for stupid jealousy.

Oh my God, what if she told Jasper and I looked like a complete moron?

The bell rang, signaling that the class was over. It was lunch next.

Once I was in the cafeteria I noticed that today I´ll probably have to sit with someone else. I spotted James and began walking to where he was sitting with his friends when I heard my name being called.

"Hey Alice!" It was Bella, "over here!"

She was sitting with Edward and other people that included Jasper.

I walked slowly to where they were, and raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"

She smiled at me and bit her lip, "I was just telling your brother how we decided that in favor of friendly competition and school spirit we were going to pair up in different teams for the competition." She said, "Isn't that great Edward?"

He turned to look at me, "Are you sure Alice?"

I grinned, "Off course, I mean Bella and I both know the importance of friendly competition. This is going to make it so much more… interesting." I said, trying not to look like I wanted to rip someone's face off.

Bella laughed, "It's gonna be so much fun!"

Jasper suddenly interrupted, "Hey you need to decide now with whom we are going to pair up, because inscriptions are today."

"You are right Jazz," Bella said, "Well; I guess it would be you, Edward, Leah and I."

He nodded, "Great darlin', and you Alice, who are you going to be with?" I was shocked to know that Bella hadn't told him, I mean, if she had, he would be laughing his ass off in front of me.

I didn't know what to answer, but then I remembered something, "I have something to do," I said, ignoring his question.

I walked without looking back until I found who I was looking, "Hey," I said, smiling.

"Hey Alice," James replied, looking surprised to see me.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to be with me in the competition on Monday," I said, praying to God he would say yes.

He grinned, showing his cute dimples again, "Sure, we were missing one actually, I'm pairing up with Victoria and Laurent, I don't know if you've met them."

I knew Laurent, but I've never seen Victoria, "I'm sure you'll introduce us later,"

He nodded, "They will like you, so no worries,"

I was just going to say goodbye when a thought suddenly stroked me, "Hey James," I said and he turned to look at me, "I was just wondering, are you doing something tomorrow night? Maybe we could go have something to eat."

"I´d love that," He replied.


	7. Chapter 7

"We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience."

APOV

I stood in the mirror contemplating my outfit.

Today was Saturday, and my sort of 'date' with James. We were going out to grab some dinner, and then maybe to the movies. I wanted something casual, but still not too casual. I didn't want to look like a prude either. I needed to be perfect.

I opted for a nice dress, it reached my mid thigh, and it was green; Emmett always said I looked good on green. I was wearing heels, as usual, since I am too small not to. I've been using heels ever since I can remember; I even stole my mom's when I was a toddler. Sometimes I hated being so small, maybe that's why I liked attention so much; to make it up for my height.

Well, enough of self-analyzing.

"You look nice," I was surprised to hear Edward's voice; he was leaning on the doorframe of my room with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at me. "The dress, I mean, is nice," he said, motioning to my attire with his hand.

"Thank you brother, I have a date tonight," I said, smiling at his reflection in the mirror.

"Really?" He said, frowning, "With whom?"

"Not that it's any of your business," I started and he gave me a disapproving look, "but his name is James."

"Chambers?" I nodded, "I have P.E. with him," he said.

"Wow, so interesting," I replied while applying lipstick.

"So," he cleared his throat, "where are you going?"

"He's taking me to meet the back of his car," I said, with a serious tone.

"Nice," Edward said smirking. And for a moment I saw the old Edward.

"Uh, actually I wanted to talk to you about something," he continued, "It's about what you told me the other night, about Bella and Jasper,"

"Really? I don't remember," I said, cocking my head to the side.

"Come on Alice, your whole chit-chat about Bella having something with Jasper," he said, sitting in my bed, "Well, I think you are wrong"

I snorted, "Yeah? Did Bella tell you that?"

"No, I didn't tell her," he said, eyeing me with a curious expression on his face, "I know you wanted me to talk to her about that, you know me well, but I know you too. I just want to know why. Why try to screw this thing I have with her?"

"I didn't try to screw anything Edward," I turned around and gazed at him.

He raised his hands in exasperation, "Then help me fucking understand why would you do something like that."

"It's not what you think," I said looking to the floor.

"It is because you don't like her?" he continued. This was so not happening.

"No Edward, look-,"

"Or you think I'm not good enough for her…," he interrupted me.

"Please Edward," I tried to stop his rambling, because I seriously couldn't take it.

"Or maybe this has something to do with the fact that you don't think I deserve to be happy after what happened. Is that it Alice? You don't think I can get a second chance? Because if you do, tell me, and I'll fucking end things with Bella right now."

"No, that's not what I want," I said, my voice quivering.

"Then what the fuck is it that you wanted?" he was now standing up, and the tone of his voice made me feel like a little girl.

I remained quiet, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Look," he said, running his hands through his hair. Cullen trait, "I thought we were alright, but I guess I was wrong. I won't bother with this anymore." He motioned from him to me with his hand.

I was in the verge of tears, and I didn't know what to do. I took a deep breath. I didn't want to lose Edward, not after getting him back. But I didn't know what to do; this wasn't my fault, I thought things were going to be different. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"I like him," I whispered when Edward was reaching the door.

"Like who?" He said, turning around to face me.

I was seriously blushing right now, "Jasper," I muttered.

He snorted, "Really Alice? This is about being jealous of Bella?" I was still silent, "Come on Alice, I thought you were way better than that."

"Oh please Edward, like you weren't freaked out by them," I said, angry by his hypocrisy.

"Yeah I was Alice, hell, I am. I've never been this serious with a girl, so I guess I am not used to the jealousy thing, but still I trust her," he replied, his green eyes sparkling. "I need to trust her."

I looked at him, surprised by how much he had changed. "Well I can't."

He chuckled, "Alice, are you fucking hearing yourself right now? You are judging people without even knowing them; you don't know what they have been through. Stop trying to manipulate people because of your fucking jealousy,"

"You should be thankful that I am watching your back, especially after what you did." Why wasn't him agreeing with me? I was his sister.

His face suddenly became serious, his eyes hard, "After what I did? I already paid for what I did; I'll be living with 'what I did' for the rest of my life. I go to bed every night asking myself why it had to be me, and even in my sleep I dream about it, reliving the moment that everything I had went to shit. It will always haunt me, no matter what I do, and there's nothing I can fucking do to fix it. So don't you dare try to manipulate me with that, because not even you Alice can hate me as much as I do." His whole body was emanating fire, even his stance was defensive. His emerald eyes were blazing, giving me goose bumps. "Don't talk about things you have no idea about."

"She was my friend," I tried to sound strong, but my voice was weak. I felt weak and powerless.

"And I'm sorry; I've been apologizing for the last months to you because I know that it hurts you, but you are not the only one," His voice was softer now, "You are not the only one that hurts, but Alice I don't owe you anything, so stop acting like I do, because I'm not going to stand it anymore. I'm finally starting to believe that maybe I deserve something more. It's my burden to carry, so don't you dare telling me what I should do, and for once stop been so selfish and grow up."

I just stood there trying not to cry. From all our fights this one had been the worst. Edward never talked to me like that, I mean, at least not about what happened. And to hear it from him was devastating. Was it all true? Was I selfish?

"Have fun on your date," he said, leaving me alone in my room.

My legs suddenly felt weak, and I crumbled to the floor, breathing heavily. I've never felt so helpless. Maybe I am a bad person, maybe I am selfish and inconsiderate, maybe that night changed me and I didn't even know it.

I heard my phone, and noticed that James was calling me.

I remembered that I had a date with him, but I didn't know if I could go now. But then I saw his innocent smile in my mind and I just knew I couldn't disappoint him too. At least I was going to do something right.

I stood up and cleaned up myself a bit. James didn't deserve seeing me like this- broken and pathetic.

But if there's something I'm sure of in this life is that make-up can cover almost anything.

"So, where is it that you are from?" James asked, smiling at me.

We were in a beautiful restaurant near the beach, it was very cold but James offered me his coat. There were candles, and soft music was playing in the background. The sky was clear, and the moon was mesmerizing.

"Alabama," I said looking at my glass.

"Hey that's cool, I have a cousin in Alabama," he replied, looking excited, "in fact, he's coming to visit in a few weeks."

"That's great James; we could all hang out,"

He reached across the table and took my hand, "What if I don't want to introduce you?"

I looked at him and realized for the first time that he had a little scar above his left eyebrow. I suddenly felt the urge to ask him how he'd get it.

"What if I want you only to myself?" He said more quietly, never leaving my stare.

I bit my lip, and felt the blood rising to my cheeks, "What if I don't?"

He flashed a crooked smile and held my hand tighter, "Then it looks like I´ll have to step up my game,"

The rest of the night was full of laughs and flirting.

I learned that James played baseball, and he had three older brothers. He was the only one still in high school. He still didn't know where he was going after school, but he enjoyed baseball, so he wanted to attend a college with a good athletics' program.

I was surprised to discover that James was funny, and very sweet. And he was even more handsome than I remembered.

When we finished dinner I realized it was getting late, and I felt really tired. When I asked him if he could take me home, he agreed immediately, telling me that we could go to the movies whenever I wanted.

When we arrived to my house he insisted on walking me to the door.

"And here I thought chivalry was dead," I said as he opened the door for me.

He grinned at me, "You just hadn't met me yet."

When we reached the porch I turned around to thank him for everything.

He was looking at me, his face serious. "I had an amazing time tonight Alice,"

"Me too," I said quietly.

"I like you," He said suddenly, his hands in his pockets.

I took a deep breath, "I know."

"A lot,"

"I know." I said again, looking to the floor.

"And because I do," he continued, "I'm willing to wait for you."

I glanced back at him; he was looking intently at me, with the most sincere look I've ever seen. He looked so honest in that moment I almost cried.

"I-I don't know what to say," That was all I could mustered.

"It's okay, I know that you are interested in someone else, but I'm not going to give up. I'm willing to wait, but I will also fight for you." He looked so determined that I felt my heart swell.

"Well at least until you get tired of me," he said jokingly, running a hand through his hair.

I laughed at his comment, but remained quiet.

"Well good night Alice, sleep well." He said, and started retreating to his car- and then I felt that I just couldn't let him go. Maybe James was the one for me, and I was so blinded by my fixation on Jasper that I didn't see it. He was there when Jasper ignored me, and he truly liked me. And maybe I could like him like that too…

"James wait!" I yelled, running towards where he was standing.

He turned around and looked at me curiously.

"I forgot something," I said when I was in front of him, and then I stood on my toes and kissed him. He was shocked at first, but after he realized what was happening he gently took my face between his hands and kissed me back. And oh my God, he was an amazing kisser. I sucked on his lower lip and he moaned, moving closer to me until there was no space between us.

His lips left mine, and made their way to my neck. He started kissing there and making me do all kinds of embarrassing noises. Then I felt his hot breath near my ear.

"I think you should go inside now," He said between pants of breath.

"Why?" I whined, as he sucked my earlobe.

He chuckled at my response, "Because I don't think your parents will appreciate me taking advantage of their daughter in their front yard."

"They won't mind," I said out of breath, while capturing his lips in mine again.

"Trust me, they will," He said against my lips. He gave me one last kiss, and disentangled himself from me.

I pouted, "Not fair,"

"Hey you were the one that kissed me, and since I'm the respectable gentleman here I need to make sure Mr. and Mrs. Cullen don't think I am a complete asshole." He said, "But don't worry, next time I won't be so understanding,"

I grinned back at him, "I am counting on that."

"Now get inside before I change my mind,"

I chuckled at his antiques and waved at him, "Bye James, thank you for everything."

"Thanks to you. I'll call you tomorrow." And with that he left.

I went skipping to my room, with a big grin on my face. I felt so happy that all the drama that happened with Bella and Edward didn't even matter. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"Students please arrange yourselves in your groups!" I heard Coach Clapp yelling, trying to get us to organize.

It was Monday, and the first official day of the Back to School competition. I still had no idea what kind of activities they would do this year, but I felt confident on my team.

Just today I met Victoria- she was tall and very athletic, not to mention that her red hair intimidated almost anyone. She played volleyball, and she was very competitive.

I knew Laurent was in great shape too, he was a track runner, so I really had no worries about him.

Off course, I knew James could kick ass, I mean just look at him!

And then there was me. I may be small, but I am fast.

I scanned the crowd of teenagers until I found them: Bella, Edward, Jasper and whatever the other girl was called. Well I knew Edward was good at sports, he just didn't like to show off. Back in Alabaster he was far more interested in girls and booze than in football practice.

Jasper looked like he practiced sports- I knew he surfed. I mean he had strong arms, and the most amazing legs I've ever laid my eyes on, and that lopsided smile… Oh cut it off Alice!

The other girl, who I think was Leah, seemed like fucking Terminator. But I knew I could outrun her.

And then there was Bella. From my little research I happened to know that she was not only a track runner but also she practiced gymnastics since she was 6. That made me a little nervous, but I wasn't going to give up. She wanted to compete against me, well then I was going to give her a good fight.

We were all wearing our P.E. shorts, with a t-shirt of the color of each team. Mine was purple, Bella's was blue.

Blue is so last season.

Once everyone was organized I noticed that there weren't as many people as I thought there would be. I guess many decided not to compete, including Lauren and her skanks.

"Okay everyone, listen up," Coach Clapp said, "Let me explain the rules before starting. Today you'll be divided in four groups, each made up of four teams. Only two teams from each group will pass to the next round that will be taking place tomorrow. The final will be taking place on Wednesday, and only four teams will compete. Then we'll know who will be the champion," In that moment Emmett yelled 'Red!' and everyone started cheering their own team´s colors. "Thank you Mr. Cullen for you participation. Now, we won't permit any kind of physical assault from any team, it will only result with disqualification. No drinking, no steroids- that's for you Mr. Newton-, no cheating, and no sore losers. Okay I think that's it. The list of the groups is placed in the bulletin board near the office; I want everyone here in 15 minutes."

"Great James!" I yelled as he grabbed the egg Victoria had just thrown to him without breaking it.

At the same time Eric Yorkie, from the other team, fell and wasn't able to grab his egg.

Laurent and I cheered, and the Coach announced that we had won.

We were in the group B, and we weren't paired with neither Bella's nor Emmett's team.

We had won most of the activities in our group, so I was sure we were passing through the next stage. I was also sure that Bella's team was also going to pass since I heard they were kicking ass in their group. Fucking great.

"Amazing job!" I said, pulling James into a hug. "You were amazing,"

He smirked, "I know," he said jokingly.

"We are definitely winning in our group," Laurent said, looking at the board with the scores.

We had 4 points, and the next one in row was the Yellow team with 2 points.

The day basically consisted in any kind of physical activity you could think of. From wrestling, to a monocycle race, which was in fact very funny.

At the end of the day everyone was spent, and all the groups scattered around so that Coach Clapp could read the finalists.

From the group A, the winners were Emmett's team and some other team of seniors I didn't know. From the group B, off course my team and Ben's team. From the group C, a group of seniors and Jacob Black's team. And finally from the group D, Bella's team and then Tyler's.

All the winning teams cheered, while the loosing ones just scowled.

As soon as I reached my bed I fell on a soundless sleep. I was so tired, muscles I didn't even know I had were hurting. I woke up the next day feeling better. I didn't eat much of a breakfast since I didn't want to run with a full stomach.

Edward hadn't spoken a word to me since Saturday, and although it hurt me to see him like that I needed to be concentrated.

Once in school, I noticed there were a lot of people that came to see us, probably the losers from the day before. They were all cheering on the teams they wanted to win.

This time, we were paired in two groups. I was in the same group of Bella and also Emmett. I thought that we were finally going to compete against each other, but then Coach Clapp explained that the two groups will compete against each other for one spot on the final. That meant that I was going to have to work together with Bella and Jasper´s team. Hell no.

"Well seems like we have this in the bag," Jasper said, eyeing our _new_ team.

"Yeah, seems like tomorrow it will come to us," Emmet replied confidently.

"Don't be so sure guys, Jake's and Tyler's teams are competing against us," Leah said, with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, Black's team seems strong," Laurent continued, looking over to the where the other teams were talking.

"Come on guys, don't be so negative! We can totally do this, besides it will be so much fun," I turned to look at Bella flashing everyone her dazzling smile. Oh, for Christ's sake!

"Yeah well, it's not going to be fun losing." I replied, looking at her. She just kept smiling.

"Who said we're going to lose Ali?" I just gave her my best don't-fuck-with-me smile and turned to talk to James.

The first challenge was a basic race, one female and the other one male. Edward won the male one, which meant we were up to 1 point from the other team.

The female one Bella was actually pretty close, and I thought I had it since I've always been known to be a fast runner, but at the last moment Bella took a sprint and won. Yeah, let's say I was a little bitter the rest of the day.

The second challenge was of endurance, only for guys. It was very close between Jacob and Emmett, but at the end Black won.

The rest of the day went in a blur, we seemed to be winning, but I wasn't sure. The last match was the pie contest. It was fairly easy, the contestant that ate the greatest amount of pies won- only six people per team could compete, and we decided quickly that the ones competing would be Emmett, Edward, James, Jasper, Tyler and a guy named Chris.

Once everyone was set and ready the competition started.

"Come on tiger! You're doing great, don't chew too much or you'll get tired." I heard Bella saying to Edward.

Well she wasn't the only one with a man to cheer on, "You are doing a great job James!" He smiled quickly at me and continued eating.

After exactly 6 minutes the only ones left were Emmett and a guy named Seth from the other group.

They were head to head, but we all had faith in Emmett.

We all cheered him on, until at last Seth gave up. He ran towards the woods, probably to puke.

We all congratulated Emmett, and even when the competition was over he kept eating pies. His appetite is just insatiable.

At the end of the day we won by only 2 points. We were all exhausted but just before I left Bella approached to me.

"Hey Alice, you did great today," she said, grinning.

Why was she talking to me? "Yeah, thank you." I muttered, confused.

"Well good luck tomorrow," She said, and I almost believed her little act. "You're going to need it."

Bitch.

It was Wednesday and finally the last day of the competition.

I was sitting near the bleachers, rubbing my hands together since it was a very cold morning. I was freezing.

"Hey," I heard James saying, just before he sat down next to me, "so, are you ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I´ll ever be," I said, my teeth almost chattering.

"You know that there is no pressure, right? Nobody cares if we win or lose; it's just for the sport,"

"Yeah, off course," I replied, grinning. "Just for the sport."

"Come on, Coach Clapp is calling us," James said, offering his hand in help.

I spotted Bella, Jasper, Leah and Edward all sitting cross legged in the field with their heads close together. All of their faces were deep in concentration as Bella seemed to be telling them something important.

Was that a ritual or something? Was she telling them something crucial to win? Okay… I was officially freaking out.

"It'll be okay," James said, sending my anxiousness.

I tried to relax, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

The last challenged was a race, that included all of the members of each team. It basically had 3 stations. To reach the first station, the first competitor needed to run with 100lbs of weight from the football field to someplace in the forest. The second participant will be waiting for them in the first station, and once their fellow teammate touched their hand they could go ahead with the rest of the race. They will be racing in bicycles across the forest until they reached the second station, located near the lake. The third contestants will be waiting for them with their hands tied behind their backs. They each will have a key, with which they could free the last contestants in the third station, who were chained to a pole. Once those last ones were free, it was a sprint till the finish line.

Since I was the fastest, I was going to be the one chained to the pole. Laurent will be first, then James and then Victoria.

When they took us to the forest to chain us I noticed that Jasper was the one on his team that was been chained too.

This fucking day was just getting better and better.

After we were chained, the coach's assistants told us the race had already started, and we just needed to wait. We were all silent, trying to hear if someone was coming. After a while the assistants left, leaving us there.

"So, who's coming to your rescue," I was surprised to hear Jasper's voice, especially since he was talking to me.

"Hmm Victoria," I said, "And you?"

"Bella," he said nodding to himself, "She definitely can run."

I set my lips in a hard line and turned to look straight ahead into where I thought Victoria was coming.

We realized we had been there waiting for hours, and still nobody was coming. I was getting hungry.

Suddenly we heard steps coming, and I was grinning like an idiot when I realized it was a red t-shirt that was coming. A guy came out of the trees, out of breath with a key in his hand, which were tied. He proceeded to free his teammate and they both went off to finish the rest of the race.

I was getting slightly anxious; I mean the other team already had a big advantage on us.

More time passed and I decided to close my eyes, just to rest for a while.

I woke up later, with that awful sensation that someone was watching me. I turned to search for the source and met with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I've ever seen.

"You were out for a while," Jasper said, smirking at me.

"What time is it?" I asked, feeling disoriented. Just then I realized we were no longer three, but only Jasper and me.

"Someone came for him a while ago," he said following my gaze, "Now its just the two of us short stuff."

I tried to guess what time it was, and I predict it was around 4. This just couldn't be possible. What on Earth was taking them so long?

I sighed and tried to shift my position since it was starting to hurt.

"Stay still, it will hurt less like that." Jasper replied, after watching my futile attempts of getting comfortable.

I thanked him and tried to be as still as possible. More time passed and still nobody came.

"So Alice, you and Chambers, huh?" Jasper asked after a while.

"How would you know?" I asked back, my eyes closed from the exhaustion.

He shrugged, "People talk."

"We are just hanging out," I responded, feeling the sudden urge to explain myself to him.

"Oh cool," After time we killed time talking about funny stories, and pranks we had done. He made me laugh so hard my tummy was starting to hurt. We even told jokes, stupid illogical jokes.

At one moment we started singing. We debated on who our favorites were, and who was better than whom. I realized we had nothing in common, totally different tastes. From movies, to TV shows. At the end we even started arguing about some stupid sitcom that I thought needed to be canceled, and he loved.

But even though we seemed to have no common interests or whatsoever, I realized that I love it. I loved that he like stupid indie and Donnie Darko, and that he was a Republican and that he watched How I Met Your Mother. I loved it that he thought fashion was overrated, and that it was the principal cause of child exploitation in the world. And then I felt it, this sudden connection with him, like he was the one that I had been waiting all my life. Like this was truly the first time we'd met.

At some point Coach Clapp came for us with a bunch of his assistants to free us. It wasn't until then that I realized we had been more than 10 hours chained to that stupid pole, and we'd probably lost the race. Whatever.

When we reached the school only a few people remained, and I immediately recognized Victoria's red hair.

"Victoria! What the fuck?" I said exasperatedly to her.

"Before you start yelling at me you need to know it wasn't my fault," She defended herself, "Bella told me she knew a shortcut and the next thing I knew we were lost and we only got here like ten minutes ago. Bella suddenly remembered she had her phone with her."

Oh my God. Why she did that?

I was still confused when I heard my name being called. It was Jasper.

"Hey Alice, wait up!" He said, jogging to where I was, "I was just wondering if you were doing something this week."

"Sorry?" I asked. Was he asking me out? I was too tired to even think.

"I asked if you wanted to do something with me this week," He replied smiling his lopsided smile. He was just so handsome, with his blonde hair all over the place, and his sky blue eyes, and that perfect body. But then I thought about James, who was probably worried about me.

"Sorry Jasper, but I'm busy this week,"

His face fell just a little, "Oh, that's okay. I'll try again next week." He said winking at me and retreating to where I supposed his car was.

I was utterly exhausted and trying to find Emmett so he could give me a ride home, when I spotted Bella exiting the school with a bag in her hand.

I didn't know what possessed me in that moment, but the next thing I knew I was calling Bella's name.

Once I reached her I was panting and out of breath, "Bella, wait."

"Hey Alice, are you okay?" She asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, it's just that… Why you did that?" I asked.

She bit her lip and frowned, "Do what?"

"Look I am not an idiot and neither are you. I don't believe that you got lost for almost 10 hours and then remember you had your phone with you the whole time."

"I have a really awful memory. Do you think I got myself lost on purpose?" She asked, chuckling at my assumption.

"Well, in fact, I do Bella. You planned it all from the beginning. I mean from the moment in the cafeteria when you told Edward we were going to be paired up in different teams. You knew Jasper and I would stay at the end; you tricked Victoria so she would never reach me. You planned this whole thing up, and I just want to know why. Why do that for someone you obviously hate." I said it all in one breath.

She stared at me for a moment, "Some people live in denial Alice, afraid that if they are not loved they will be unhappy. They don't know what love is, and maybe none of us really do, but I think it is very close to the fact that despite anger, tears, laughter… you still want to be with _that _someone. I think you deserve all of that, but in the end it's your choice." She said smiling at me, "And just so you know I do get lost easily."

We both laughed at that, and in that moment I felt bad for all the bad things I ever said and thought about Bella.

"Thank you," I muttered, blushing.

She didn't say anything, instead she hugged me. "I believe in you Alice."

"Oh, your brother is waiting for me," She continued, taking back a few steps, "I told him I forgot something in my locker and now he must be worried."

"Bye Bella," I said, waving at her.

"Bye. Oh, by the way, do you think we could go shopping tomorrow? I'm in serious need of Marc Jacobs." She said, smiling at me.

"Sure." I said, nodding. Then I remembered something, "Hey Bella wait," She stopped walking and turned to where I was, "What were you telling your team today, when you were sitting in a circle, you know before the race started?"

She smiled at me, "I was telling them what happened last week in Greek,"

I laughed at her answer- I laughed so hard tears were streaming down my face. When I reached my room I was still laughing, and the last thing I thought about before drifting to sleep was that I was wrong about Bella Swan.


End file.
